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Test Taking
Dealing with Test Anxiety
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Dealing With Test Anxiety

Many students suffer from text anxiety.  The degree of anxiety you suffer at test time can enhance or decrease your performance on the test.  A little anxiety is useful in psyching you up.  Too much anxiety psyches you out and greatly diminishes your performance.  

To avoid anxiety, you should understand:

  • what causes anxiety to occur

  • how to control the situations that foster the response

  • what to do if anxiety strikes

Causes of Anxiety

The following questionnaire can help you determine the extent to which you are susceptible to test anxiety.  Answer true or false to each question:

  1. The palms of my hands often become sweaty prior to or during a test.

  2. My vision is sometimes blurred during a test.

  3. Tests frequently have trick questions designed to make me do poorly.

  4. I often know more about a subject than I am able to show on a test.

  5. Tests are unfair because they require you to perform for just one hour when many hours of learning were necessary.  Most test are unfair.

  6. During tests I often think about what will happen to me if I do poorly.

  7. I really study but somehow I just don't do well.

If you answered true to four or more of these questions, test anxiety may be a problem for you.  You need to understand what triggers your anxiety and how your actions influence the anxiety response.  The ABC's of test anxiety help to explain this process.

A is an Activating situation.  For anxiety to occur, you must encounter a situation in which you fear you, or something dear to you, may be harmed.  The fear of failing a test can certainly present itself as a harmful situation.

C is a Condition of anxiety.  When you are anxious, the oxygen that normally flows to your brain is transmitted to your limbs.  The result is a loss of mental functioning that impedes your ability to recall facts, organize thoughts, analyze and summarize information, or develop conclusions.

You do not advance from A to C automatically.  The situation itself does not create anxiety.  The mediating factor is B -- what you Believe about the consequences of the situation.  To avoid test anxiety, you must take control of what you think.  Thinking of a test as an opportunity to show what you know, rather than as a source of possible failure, will go a long way in preventing anxiety.

Controlling Anxiety

Being in control of what you think involves more than just positive thinking.  First, you should be prepared.  Nothing creates confidence like knowing the material.  Remember that knowing is not the same as understanding.  It is certainly important to understand the material, but most of what you are tested on relies heavily on memorizing details.  Prevent anxiety by overlearning the details of the material.

Second, you should develop a strategy for taking the test like the triage method.  Once you have decided on which questions to answer first, create your own time schedule for taking the test.  Taking control of how much time you spend on the test shifts the feeling of control from the teacher to you.  Taking control of all elements of the test decreases your risk of anxiety.

Third, you should take control over your own fears and expectations.  Success comes to those who seek it, expect it, and visualize it before the event.  Athletes often practice seeing themselves crossing the finish line, scoring a touchdown, making a homerun, etc.  You can do the same thing by visualizing yourself in your classroom using test taking strategies and scoring well.  Taking practice tests is another way to build your expectations of success.  When you perform well in practice, you generally perform well on the actual test.

Finally, good luck charms are also effective.  Good luck comes to those who work hard, but it also comes to those who expect it.  If you have a lucky charm, a piece of clothing, a special coin, or a rabbits foot--whatever it is, bring it with you to the test.  Praying, meditating, or silently repeating a favorite poem or saying for a few seconds with your eyes closed can help you focus and relax.

When Anxiety Strikes

When anxiety strikes, you must stop, step back, and try to relax.  Think about the test questions, and not the consequences of the test.  Breathe deeply to improve the flow of oxygen to the brain.  Recall your visions of success.  Check your time schedule and your test strategy.  Ask yourself if you are following the triage method.  Focus on the questions you know for sure, followed by those you feel fairly confident about--do not second guess your answers.  

 

 


Tips on dealing with test anxiety from St. Thomas University

 

 

 

 


Measure your test anxiety

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muskingum College's Test Anxiety Page

 

 


Williams College page on dealing with stress