Abstract
Two tests commonly used in research on achievement motivation, the Thematic Apperception Test and the Test Anxiety Questionnaire, have been criticized for a number of shortcomings involving reliability, validity, and ease of scoring. The present study examines the retrospective validity of two alternate measures which appear to overcome many of the objections to the former tests. These alternate measures are the n-Ach scale of the Personality Research Form and the Debilitating Anxiety scale of the Achievement Anxiety Test. An analysis of variance comparing the relative academic achievement of two samples of college students was performed through using high and low scoring comparisons on the two measures. The results showed that academic achievement was significantly related to scores on the tests. The alternate measures are therefore recommended to researchers for further study of achievement motivation.
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