Associations between test anxiety and academic achievement in distance education: avoidance- and overcontrol-related process and the moderating role of exam format preference

Abstract

Introduction The increased use of distance education has heightened the importance of understanding the self-regulatory correlates of student academic success. Although test anxiety has generally been associated with lower academic achievement, the behavioral and dispositional variables statistically linking these constructs remain insufficiently understood, particularly in digitally mediated learning environments. Grounded in Situated Expectancy-Value Theory and Self-Regulated Learning theory, this study examined the direct and indirect associations between test anxiety and cumulative GPA through academic procrastination and academic perfectionism and investigated whether these indirect associations differed according to students’ self-reported exam format preference. Methods A cross-sectional correlational design was employed with 928 students enrolled in distance education programs. Structural equation modeling was first used to assess the measurement model and estimate the hypothesized mediation model. Subsequently, Conditional Process Analysis (PROCESS Model 58) was employed to test the hypothesized moderated mediation model. Results Academic procrastination and academic perfectionism partially mediated the association between test anxiety and cumulative GPA. Furthermore, exam format preference significantly moderated the indirect association through academic procrastination, although the effect was small. Specifically, the negative association between academic procrastination and GPA was weaker among students who preferred constructed-response formats than among those who preferred multiple-choice formats. In contrast, the indirect association through academic perfectionism did not vary by exam format preference. Discussion These findings extend the literature by integrating emotional, self-regulatory, and individual-difference variables within a unified framework. They highlight the roles of academic procrastination and academic perfectionism in the association between test anxiety and academic achievement and suggest that exam format preference may modestly shape the procrastination-related pathway. Overall, the findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of academic achievement in distance education.