Academic performance among final year students of psychology department, Benue State University Makurdi; the role of study time and test anxiety

Abstract

Academic performance is an issue of serious concern among students most especially those at the tertiary level of learning. Particularly, poor academic performance among undergraduates has continued to be on the rise with attendant consequences. However, there is still paucity of research studies investigating the related factors to poor academic performance among undergraduates in Nigeria. Therefore, this study sought to assess the relationship between study time, test anxiety and examination performance among undergraduates of Benue State University, Makurdi. A total of 284 undergraduates comprising of 129 (47.8%) Male and 151(52.2%) female with age ranging from 17 to 35 (Mean = 25.76; SD = 4.60; Min. Age: 17; Max. Age: 35) participated in the study. Students that met minimum of 75% class attendance in organizational psychology were selected and completed Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). Result indicated study time has no significant relationship with examination performance (β= -.079, t=-1.532, P>.05). Furthermore, result has shown that test anxiety has significant and inverse relationship with examination performance (β = -.494, t= -9.453, P<.01). Additionally, study time and test anxiety jointly predicted academic performance [R= .497, R2=.247, F (2, 283) = 46.202, P<.01]. The result further revealed that study time and test anxiety jointly accounted for 24.7% of the variability in examination performance. This finding is consistent with what is reported in the literature. It is suggested that, future study should include other variables that moderate the relationship between study time, test anxiety and examination performance variables.