University students' negative emotions in a computer-based examination: the roles of trait test-emotion, prior test-taking methods and gender

Although the effectiveness and experiences of computer-based examinations is a widely investigated area of research, the question of whether and how computer-based assessment limits or heightens the experience of negative test emotions remains largely unexamined. Drawing from the control-value theory of achievement emotions, we investigated undergraduate students' emotions during an authentic, course-based assessment in a computer-based testing environment, as well as predictors and outcomes associated with their emotions. We found that students (N = 74) in a computer-based testing environment reported lower levels of negative emotions than their typical negative test emotions. Females and males performed equally in the examination, yet females reported higher retrospective negative emotions. Consistently, females reported higher levels of typical test-taking anxiety in prior examinations, but they reported lower anxiety in a computer-based environment. Finally, although typical and retrospective emotions were correlated, only retrospective emotions were associated with examination performance. We discuss the importance of testing environments and time-frames in understanding how to support students' emotions in testing with particular emphasis on implications for online assessment.