Tips for Beating Test Anxiety
Study strategies and coping skills transform attitudes
W
By Rachel Ehmke
Article provided by Child Mind Institute
hen athletes are called upon to perform in
high-pressure situations many of them describe
having peaked senses that they use to their
advantage. They’re able to quiet their minds, zone out
the audience, and make the catch. Kids with test anxiety
have the opposite reaction.
“Anxiety also has the potential to shut you down,”
explains neuropsychologist Ken Schuster. “When kids are
having test anxiety they can’t think clearly, they can’t
judge things the way they could if they weren’t anxious.
All of your other abilities get clouded up by anxiety.”
Why some kids get test anxiety
There are a number of different reasons why some kids
might be more susceptible to anxiety. Test anxiety often
goes hand-in-hand with learning issues. Children who
have ADHD or a learning disability are often already
feeling anxious about school, and when it’s time to take
a test that sense can be heightened. “If I have ADHD and
I am prone to inattention, if I start feeling anxious on top
of that I’m going to have a lot more difficulty,” notes Dr.
Schuster.
Likewise, when a student has a limited amount of time
to take a test and knows that he processes things slowly,
he’s probably going to start feeling anxious.
Kids worried that they won’t do well, for whatever
reason, are prone to more anxiety. Kids with an anxious
temperament who worry about making mistakes or
performing in general—from singing in music class to
going up to bat at baseball—tend to feel more test
anxiety. Kids who believe that they won’t do as well in a
particular subject—like girls influenced by the stereotype
that boys are better at math—may also be more prone to
test anxiety in that subject.
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Feeling more confident
The common denominator is that if you think you aren’t
going to do well, you’re going to feel more anxious
going in. “What I have seen when I work with kids who
have test anxiety is they tend to say, ‘I’m so stupid,’ ”
says psychologist Matt Cruger. “That can’t be a helpful
mindset to have when taking tests. In a more general
way I’m really trying to rehabilitate kids’ sense of
themselves as competent learners.”
Learning strategies to bolster your confidence going
into the test is a good approach. Often that starts with
changing how you study. Dr. Cruger says that 90% of the
students he works with don’t have an effective model of
studying. “What they end up doing most often is rely on
their memory of what they heard in class, or review their
notes by reading them over,” he says. He helps them try
other more active methods that give them more mastery
over the material.
Better study strategies
Know the test format. “Imagine if you took the SAT
but you never did any SAT prep. That could happen to
a kid all the time,” says Dr. Cruger. “They studied the
content but they didn’t know what the format was going
to be, so they don’t feel like they are prepared.” So
kids should try to find out what format the test will be.
Multiple choice? True or false? Essay? A combination?
Just knowing the format will help them feel more
prepared and take away the shock they might feel when
they are handed the test. And if it is possible to take
some practice tests, do it.
Reorganize the material. Try to think about what
the main ideas are in what the class has been studying.
Outline the big events and issues, and think about the
themes that unite them. This is a more active style of