The effects of confidence and perception of test-taking skills on performance

Abstract

This study examined the effects of confidence and perception in test-taking skills on test performance. Participants were 106 undergraduate students in an urban state university, with an average age = 24.42 (SD = 6.39) and an average grade point average = 3.22 on a 4.0 scale (SD = .44). Each participant completed a demographic questionnaire, the Learning and Study Skills Inventory (Weinstein, Palmer, & Schulte, 1987), a 20 item scale developed for this research to assess attitudes toward test-taking skills (the Self-perceptions of Test Taking Scale), and two multiple choice exams made up of 30 released items from the social studies and mathematics portions of the Praxis Exam (Educational Testing Service, 1992). Regression analyses indicated that confidence was related to test performance but self-perception of test taking skills was not. The results are discussed in terms of assisting students in building confidence in the classroom to bolster test performance.