Measuring Test Anxiety of Two Computerized Exam Approaches

Computerized exams have benefits for large enrollment courses and computer science classes, specifically. In this research paper, we compare student self-reported test anxiety between two modes of administering computerized exams: a computer-based testing facility (CBTF) and a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) setup. We conducted crossover design experiments in two computer science courses, measuring trait anxiety, as well as students’ test anxiety and their test performance after each exam. We found no statistically significant differences between testing modes on either students’ test anxiety or their performance. We did replicate prior findings showing positive correlations between trait anxiety and test anxiety (statistically significant in one course) and inverse correlations between test anxiety and exam score. From a test anxiety perspective, our findings indicate that either a CBTF or BYOD configuration for computerized exams is an acceptable means for addressing large classes and/or a desire to permit computational elements (e.g., IDEs, testing/debugging code) on exams.