It has always been the concern of educators to improve students’ academic achievement. More importantly, the consequences of success or failures of students in schools are far reaching particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. Researchers on students’ achievement have investigated human and environmental variables which correlate with higher achievements and could be used to predict future achievements. These efforts have led to the discovery of a category of students who perform excellently well in class work and home assignments but are found to perform below the expected level of achievement when a test or examination is administered on them. One plausible explanation for the discrepancy is that such students experience high levels of debilitating test anxiety which distract them from task relevant cues and as such, they are not able to retrieve the required information. This study however analyzed the relationship between test anxiety and academic performance among students in secondary schools in Lagos State. The study found that there is no gender difference in test anxiety level among the students. The study also found no evidence of statistically significant different in test anxiety among students from high socio-economic status and their counterparts from lower socio-economic status. The study further established that a statistically significant negative relationship exist between test anxiety and academic performance. Finally male and female students did not differ in their levels of test anxiety while low test anxious students performed better than high test anxious students as shown on the findings. The study therefore recommended that anxiety at a moderate level is healthy for every individual as it has been proven to be a motivating factor. However, excessive anxiety during examination should be reduced because it is counter-productive. It is equally evident from the study that anybody can excel if given adequate opportunity. Therefore the study recommends that the government should provide adequate facilities in schools for effective teaching and learning to take place as these would help build more confidence in students
