College students' self-reported test anxiety levels in English, mathematics, physical science, and social science were compared to develop empirical support for the claim that students, in general, are more anxious about tests in rigorous academic subjects than in the humanities and to understand the curriculum-related sources of anxiety. It was hypothesized that students' perceptions of a subject's difficulty are correlated positively with their levels of test anxiety in that subject. It was assumed that students would report greater test anxiety when they believed mastery of a subject demanded precise answers on tests rather than a general understanding of the course content. First-year college students (N=196) (131 males and 65 females) were assigned randomly to groups using a 4 x 3 factorial design (4 levels of subject matter by 3 levels of test demand instruction). A revised version of the Worry-Emotionality Scale and a five-item scale describing their opinions and attitudes of the difficulty of the four academic curricular areas were used. Test anxiety scores and perceptions of subject matter difficulty correlated, independently of the particular subject and the test demands. Analyses of covariance indicate that physical science elicited the highest levels of self-reported evaluative anxiety, after controlling for perceptions of difficulty and test demands. Effects for test demand instructions were not significant. Results are discussed concerning the importance of subject matter as an intervening variable in test anxiety research generally and the significance of the role of test anxiety in impeding science achievement. (Contains 22 references.) (RLC)