How to Moderate Student Evaluation Apprehension and Increase Academic Achievement in Online Assessment: An Insight into the Roles of Critical Thinking, Self-esteem, and Self-assessment

Evaluation apprehension refers to the anxiety that might arise from the fear that an audience may view one's knowledge or skill poorly. A review of the existing literature reflected that evaluation apprehension was uncharted territory, especially in foreign language learning. Keeping this point in mind, the present study intended to uncover the effects of practicing critical thinking (CT), self-esteem (S-E), and self-assessment (S-A) on moderating evaluation apprehension (EA) and increasing academic achievement in online assessment. Data was collected from 391 EFL students through the use of the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form A, The Foreign Language Learning Self-esteem Scale (FLLSE), The Core of Self-Assessments Questionnaire, The Student Evaluation Apprehension Scale, and a Researcher-made test. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) results indicate that developing CT, S-E, and S-A can moderate student EA and increase academic achievement. The results of this inquiry may benefit those who are learning a language, those who teach a language, and those who make policy decisions.