State final examination as a factor increasing the anxiety of school leavers

Relevance of this issue is due to the peculiarities of the procedure of testing students' knowledge, which every year is subjected to various changes and innovations, leading to an increase in students' anxiety. The article is aimed at investigating the level of anxiety in students taking (9th, 11th grades) and not taking exams (8th, 10th grades), as well as comparing the indicators of these groups in order to identify possible differences. The methods used were the «Anxiety scale» of C. Spielberger in the adaptation of Y. Hanin and the statistical U-criterion of Mann - Whitney. A total of 120 pupils in grades 8-11, aged 14-18, studying at the Dimitrovgrad Multidisciplinary Lyceum, took part in the study. It has been shown that high levels of both situational and personal anxiety are mainly manifested in grades 9 and 11. The study presented in the article allows us to conclude that it is necessary to carry out additional measures to reduce anxiety among students in grades 9 and 11. The results of the study can be applied in the process of organizing psychological support for school leavers during examinations.