A review of test use: The test anxiety inventory

The test anxiety inventory

Abstract

This study was conducted to review the use of tests. For this purpose, 45 articles in which the Turkish form of the "Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI)," which is one of the tests frequently used in the field of education, was employed and that were published between 2000 and 2020 were examined in terms of factors that should be considered in the use of tests. A descriptive survey model was used in the study. Data were collected by using a "Control Form for the Use of Tests Adapted to the Target Culture", which was developed by the researcher. The findings obtained in the study indicated that in all studies, the feature intended to be measured with the inventory, the feature intended to be measured with the group, and the group that the test was applied were consistent. It was found that there were some incomplete or incorrect usages in terms of reporting the name of the TAI, the references related to the studies in which the inventory was developed and adapted, and the answers and scoring of the test. Only one study was found to present information about obtaining necessary permissions for the use of the inventory from the researchers who had adapted it. It was recommended that data about related properties should be reported and new analyses for validity and reliability should be conducted when necessary, even if the focus of test use in studies was not to determine psychometric properties. Accordingly, the validity and reliability data were mostly incomplete or not discussed at all in the articles examined within the scope of the study. The psychometric property that the researchers reported most and examined by using the data obtained from the related study was "Cronbach’s Alpha" coefficient. It was also noteworthy that there were inconsistencies between studies in reporting the psychometric properties of the TAI. Accordingly, in the case of test use, especially studies in which the test was developed in the related culture or studies in which the test was adapted to a specific culture should be reached as a primary source, and researchers should be supported by necessary education and sources in terms of factors that should be considered in the use of tests.