Income inequality is associated with heightened test anxiety and lower academic achievement: A cross-national study in 51 countries

Research on predictors of test anxiety has focused primarily on the role of psychological factors and the proximal environment. However, the role of the broader socio-ecological context, specifically, national income inequality, is seldom explored. The present study aimed to test whether national income inequality is associated with greater test anxiety and whether test anxiety is associated with lower academic achievement. We analyzed data from the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), drawing on responses from 389,215 students nested in 51 countries. Multi-level structural equation modeling was used. Results indicated that students in more unequal countries experienced greater test anxiety and had lower levels of achievement. Test anxiety, in turn, was associated with lower academic achievement in reading, math, and science. However, test anxiety did not mediate the effects of income inequality on achievement nor did income inequality moderate the relationship between test anxiety and achievement. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate the importance of taking socio-ecological factors such as income inequality into account when examining anxiety and achievement in academic settings.