[Diagnosis of performance anxiety in educational spelling tests: new results of the psychometric properties and validity of a relevant brief scale].

In the present study the psychometric properties and the criterion-related validity of a short scale for measuring students' spelling-specific test anxiety were analyzed. This scale consists of 13 self-rating items which reflect students' worry and emotionality reactions in face of spelling requirements at school. Along with some concurrent criterion variables (such as general self-esteem, academic and spelling-related self-concept, and spelling-related attributions, spelling and mathematics achievement, regressive classroom behavior), data were gathered at the beginning (N = 274) and, nearly 11 months later, at the end (N = 257) of the school year. At both measurement times, principal component analyses correspondingly revealed one common test anxiety factor and led to an overall scale format. This final scale solutions appeared to be sufficiently reliable and stable. Furthermore, their relationships to the various criterion variables largely turned out as theoretically expected. Especially, the spelling-specific test anxiety scores could be best predicted by spelling-specific self-concept and by spelling achievement, respectively. Thus, the findings of the present study could replicate the results of a previous pilot study and provided further support for the construct validity of interpretations based upon the spelling-specific test anxiety scale.