Research on exam anxiety and hopeople of students preparing for the university exam during the Covid-19 pandemic process: The case of Istanbul

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between test anxiety and the levels of hopelessness of students preparing for the university entrance exam during the Covid 19 pandemic process that started in 2019. The population of the study was determined as 175.217 students who were preparing for the university entrance exam in Istanbul. The study was carried out with 403 randomly determined students who were preparing for the university entrance exam in Istanbul. In this study, Demographic Information Form created by the researcher, Test Anxiety Inventory and Beck Hopelessness Scale were used to collect data. When the findings of the study were examined, it was seen that the students who prepared for the exam in both genders had high test anxiety. Compared to the results of previous studies, there are findings in the literature that male students' test anxiety is at a moderate level, while female participants' test anxiety is higher. In this context, when the results of this study are examined, it can be thought that the pandemic process causes the exam anxiety of individuals in both sexes to increase. The hopelessness levels of the participants were determined as moderate and mild. When the students participating in the research were examined according to school types, it was found that Imam Hatip and Anatolian Imam Hatip High School (Religious Vocational High Schools) students had higher levels of test anxiety than other high school groups. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by taking the lead in the studies carried out to determine the effect of the pandemic to be carried out after the pandemic process.