Test anxiety in adolescents: Predominantly stable across the school year

Test anxiety has been associated with educational and psychological well-being impairments, especially for girls. However, its stability over an academic year and the distribution of high test anxiety scores across students remain unclear. This study focuses on (a) identifying whether test anxiety levels vary across a school year and (b) assessing the proportion of students with stable, increasing, or decreasing test anxiety scores over a school year. A total of 527 students from Grades 10 and 11, attending five secondary schools in Quebec (Canada), completed two widely used test anxiety scales: The Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory and the Brief Friedben Test Anxiety Scale. The sample consisted predominantly of female students (69.2%), most of whom were French-speaking and born in Canada (77%). Multilevel regression results showed that test anxiety remained stable throughout the school year when analyzed as a continuous variable but varied for one of the two measures, the Brief Friedben Test Anxiety Scale, when analyzed as a dichotomous variable. A multilevel logistic regression analysis revealed that test anxiety remained stable for 71.3%-81.4% students, while 18.6%-28.7% experienced significant fluctuations. Gender differences in test anxiety levels remained consistent over time, with higher levels observed in girls compared with boys. The findings underscore the persistent nature of test anxiety and highlight the need for ongoing, tailored school-based interventions to support students' mental health and academic well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).