The Effect of Electronic Assessment Protocol on Academic Achievement Mediated by Mathematics Anxiety in Female Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study with a Path Analysis Approach

Objective: Math anxiety, a serious and growing challenge among students, can have extensive negative impacts on their academic performance and overall progress in mathematics-related subjects. The prevalence of COVID-19 and the sudden shift to online education have heightened concerns about the exacerbation of this anxiety. In these circumstances, traditional assessment methods were often ineffective and could themselves become a source of increased anxiety. Changes in assessment patterns, especially in virtual learning environments, are recognized as a key factor in reducing anxiety and improving student performance. The application of interactive and practical strategies can help alleviate math anxiety. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of an electronic assessment protocol on math anxiety and academic achievement in junior high school female students, with an emphasis on the mediating role of math anxiety. This study sought to provide practical and evidence-based solutions for improving the quality of education and effectively managing anxiety during educational transformations.
Materials and Methods: This research adopted a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test control group. The statistical population of this study included all female junior high school students in Golestan province during the academic year 2020-2021. A sample consisting of 246 female students was selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the electronic assessment protocol intervention. In contrast, the control group received no intervention. Data collection instruments included the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale-Revised (MARS-R) and students' academic achievement scores. Data analysis was performed using advanced statistical software, SPSS version 27 and R. To precisely analyze the mediating role of math anxiety in the relationship between the electronic assessment protocol and academic achievement, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using the lavaan package in R software, as well as the bootstrapping method, were employed.
Discussion and Conclusion: The results of this study clearly demonstrated the significant and positive effectiveness of the electronic assessment protocol in remarkably improving academic achievement and noticeably reducing math learning anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group. These findings suggest that novel assessment approaches have high potential in enhancing learning and reducing psychological barriers and can be utilized as effective tools. Although the reduction in test anxiety and the overall math anxiety score did not reach a statistically significant level (p > 0.05), a clear and promising downward trend was observed in these components, indicating the overall positive effects of the protocol and the need for further research in these areas. More importantly and remarkably, the precise mediation analysis showed that math anxiety, as a key variable, played a significant mediating role in the relationship between the implementation of the electronic assessment protocol and academic achievement. This implies that the protocol indirectly influences the improvement of students' academic achievement by effectively reducing math anxiety (especially the learning anxiety component) through this psychological mechanism. These valuable findings not only confirm the effectiveness of the electronic protocol in improving academic achievement and reducing learning anxiety but also clearly elucidate its complex and multifaceted mechanism of action through the mediating role of math anxiety. This research strongly emphasizes the importance of designing and implementing interactive, flexible, and practical assessment strategies in modern educational environments, especially in virtual spaces; strategies whose goal is not only to assess knowledge but also to reduce inhibiting psychological factors such as anxiety and comprehensively enhance the learning process. Finally, it is suggested that educational policymakers pay special attention to affective aspects such as math anxiety alongside cognitive aspects and seriously consider the use of novel assessment technologies to simultaneously improve students' psychological and academic outcomes.
Keywords: Math anxiety, E-learning, Assessment, Protocol, Academic achievement