COPING WITH TEST SITUATIONS AND EXAM PERFORMANCE AMONG STUDENTS
COPING WITH TEST SITUATIONS AND EXAM PERFORMANCE AMONG STUDENTS

Summary/Abstract: This study examined whether there were statistically significant differences in the level of expression of certain stress coping strategies during exam-taking among students. What was also tested was the correlation of coping strategies with the satisfaction with one’s performance on the written exam, and also whether certain exam coping strategies and satisfaction with one’s performance could be statistically significant predictors of the grade students obtained on the exam. The sample included 111 students (28 male and 83 female) attending the second year of the Pedagogical Faculty in Vranje. Before the written exam, the students completed the α scale from the KON6 test battery, which served as a measure of anxiety. The main idea in applying this scale was to assess whether students appraised the upcoming exam as a source of stress. Immediately after they finished the exam, they were given the Coping with test situation scale. In the end, the students were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their performance on the previously completed written exam. The results of ANOVA with repeated measures have shown that there was a statistically significant difference regarding the level of expression of certain stress coping strategies during the exam, where the most prominent was the problem-focused one. Satisfaction with one’s performance on exam was in the statistically significant negative correlation with emotion-focused and imagination/distraction coping strategies. Statistically significant predictors of students’ grades proved to be the satisfaction with their own test performance and imagination/distraction coping strategy. Although the results indicated that the problem-focused coping strategy is the most prominent one, the imagination/distraction coping strategy is the one that had the most influential negative impact on the exam performance.

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