Effects of Pop quiz on Test Anxiety in Students of Basic Medical Sciences

Introduction: Prevalence of test anxiety is continuously increasing. It seems that factors such as students’ familiarization with questions and how tests are given may affect test anxiety. Accordingly, this study examined the effects of pop quizzes (unannounced formative tests) on the test anxiety in students of basic medical sciences in neuroanatomy course. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed in first semester of the academic year 2012-2013 and all of 120 students of basic medical sciences taking neuroanatomy course were divided randomly into two groups of 60. During ‎the semester, eight tests were given to the experiment group. After the final exam, a 25 item anxiety questionnaire was used to explore test anxiety in both of experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, chi-square and t- tests. Results: The lowest and highest anxiety scores were 25 and 100 respectively out of 100 in the control group and the mean anxiety score was 62±0.19. In the experimental group the lowest and highest scores were 30 and 100, and the mean anxiety score was 60±0.16. Despite higher mean anxiety score in the experimental group than the control group, Chi-square test did not show a significant relationship between unannounced formative tests and test anxiety scores (P=3.2). Conclusion: The results showed that unannounced formative tests had no impact on test anxiety in students of basic medical sciences. It seems that changes in teaching and evaluation methods alone may not reduce test anxiety it is therefore suggested that besides educational interventions, future researches control for psychological factors affecting anxiety.