A well established finding is that the cognitive component of test anxiety (worry) is negatively related to examination performance. The present study examined how 3 self-beliefs (academic buoyancy, perceived control, and test competence) moderated the strength of the relationship between worry and examination performance in a sample of 270 final year secondary school students. Participants completed self-reports of academic buoyancy, perceived control, test competence, and cognitive test anxiety, that were matched with examination grades in English, science, and mathematics. Results showed an interaction between worry and perceived control. Students with higher perceived control performed better at low levels of worry. As worry increased, the differential advantage offered by higher perceived control diminished. At high levels of worry control made little difference to examination performance. Interventions designed to reduce worry may not necessarily improve examination performance unless they also target improved control.

A robust finding is that test anxiety, or to be more precise, the cognitive aspect of test anxiety is associated with lower test and examination performance (e.g., Chapell et al., 2005; Hembree, 1988). Examination performance may have profound consequences for students and teachers. For students, examination performance can influence access to the job market and future educational opportunities (e.g., Bradley & Lenton, 2007; Heath, Rothon, & Kilpi, 2008). For teachers, accountability systems use student examination performance as measures of teaching quality (Perryman, 2006; von der Embse, Schoemann, Kilgus, Wicoff, & Bowler, 2016) in the United States (e.g., Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014) and internationally (OECD, 2013). Identifying those factors that exacerbate or ameliorate the relationship between test anxiety and examination performance is, therefore, of practical and theoretical value. Such findings can be used to inform the development of intervention to...