Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT)
Measures the dual impact of test anxiety on academic performance, distinguishing between facilitating anxiety (which enhances performance) and debilitating anxiety (which hinders performance).
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT) was developed by Richard Alpert, Ralph Norman Haber (1960). It is designed to measure Test Anxiety. The scale is intended for use with College Students and Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 19 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Facilitating Anxiety, Debilitating Anxiety.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Facilitating Anxiety | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 | 9 |
| Debilitating Anxiety | 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 | 10 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 9 to 50. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Facilitating Anxiety: 9 – 22
- Moderate Facilitating Anxiety: 23 – 31
- High Facilitating Anxiety: 32 – 45
- Low Debilitating Anxiety: 10 – 24
- Moderate Debilitating Anxiety: 25 – 35
- High Debilitating Anxiety: 36 – 50
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Test-retest reliability: .83 (Facilitating) and .87 (Debilitating) over 10 weeks.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.