Gender Differences in Assessment and Anxiety in Undergraduate Science Courses

Anxiety is a prevalent and persistent challenge in today's society, may influence an individual’s well-being and self-confidence. In higher education, students are often put in situations of increased stress, such as high-percentage evaluations and time constrained examinations. The anxiety related to these assessments may have direct impact on learning outcomes. This study examines how gender differences may lead to different levels of assessment anxiety, and how this directly relates to students’ academic self-efficacy and final grade outcomes in undergraduate science education. 

During Fall 2024, a survey was administered across multiple introductory-level undergraduate science courses at McGill University, including courses relating to Geosciences, such as Natural Disasters, Mathematics, and Physics. For each course, the survey was made available to students the day following their first midterm and remained open for a two-week period. A total of 277 students responded to the survey, representing 13% of the total enrolment. Of these responses, 188 students consented to providing final grades, representing 9% of the total enrolment.  

The survey used Likert scale questions to measure state anxiety, trait anxiety and academic self-efficacy. State anxiety is defined here as the situational anxiety experienced in response to a specific evaluative context. This construct captures cognitive worry, emotional strain, and ability to concentrate, making specific reference to the respondent’s recent assessment in the course. Trait anxiety refers to the persistent anxiety experienced across all evaluative situations, and is not tied to one specific assessment. Academic self-efficacy reflects students  confidence to successfully perform academic tasks and achieve desired outcomes within a course. The survey also collected demographic information. Of interest to the work presented here, 55%  of survey responses identified as female and 42% as male. 

To explore potential gender differences in anxiety, and the resulting impact on learning, we analyze the data by gender. Preliminary results indicate a significant difference in descriptive statistics. Women’s self-efficacy scores exhibit a relatively uniform distribution with a lower mode, reflecting greater variability and a larger proportion of lower scores. Men’s scores are more concentrated at the higher end, indicating higher and more consistently reported self-efficacy. Further analysis use multiple regression to examine how these gender-related differences in anxiety and self-efficacy may lead to differences in final grade outcomes. Understanding these differences is critical in geoscience and related fields, as it can inform more effective teaching strategies and support equitable learning experiences for all students. These findings can advance the development of more inclusive curricula and assessment practices. They may also inform instructional training related to assessment design and delivery that aims to promote both student well-being and academic success.