Self-concept and test anxiety of high and low academic achievers in Hong Kong secondary school

Abstract

Objectives: This study explored the relationship between students’ academic achievement, self-concept, and test anxiety. Both within and between schools comparisons were made to evaluate the effect of the long and short term academic achievement on self-concept and test anxiety. In addition, the effect of gender on self-concept and test anxiety was also examined.

Methods: Three hundred and twenty-three Hong Kong secondary school Form 1 students, with 214 from a higher band school and 109 from a lower band school, participated in the study. They completed the Chinese Adolescent Self-Esteem Scale (CSSES) and the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI).

Results: The findings supported the Big Fish Little Pond (BFLP) effect on the ability within, but not between schools. The BFLP effect was not only found on students’ academic self-concept sub-scales, but also on some of their non-academic self-concept sub-scales. Moreover, high band students had more emotional disturbances during examinations, whereas low achievers had greater worries about academic failure. Gender effect was found on self-concept and test anxiety. A weak negative correlation was found between self-concept and test anxiety.

Discussion: The results demonstrate the importance of within school comparisons on students’ self-concept. Categorizing students into different band schools may generate a labeling effect on students’ self-concept, which may in turn affect their academic achievement.