studying that helps kids think about
what they have been learning in
a different way from how it was
presented, which will give them a
richer understanding of it. And the
better you understand something,
the harder it will be to stump you.
Think about possible questions.
Predicting and answering questions
ahead of time helps kids gain more
mastery over the material and feel
more confident. But try to think
flexibly. “We like our tests to require
people to solve the problem, but
often not in the way we taught them
the problem,” warns Dr. Cruger.
So if you know you will have some
essay questions to answer, try to
predict what the topics might be and
practice writing your answer ahead
of time. If you know there will be
some word problems, think about
how the things you’ve learned in
class might be turned into a word
problem. Look at the word problems
that already came up on homework
assignments.
During the test
Even after having done all you can
to prepare, it’s still good to be armed
with some strategies for getting
through the test and putting the
brakes on any anxiety you might
start feeling in the moment.
Have a plan: Dr. Schuster says
that kids who learn and use basic
test-taking strategies tend to feel
more confident. For example he
recommends:
Don’t spend too much time on
any one question.
If it’s a multiple choice test,
read each answer and then
cross out the ones you know
aren’t right to help yourself
narrow it down.
Pick an answer and stick with
it—we all have the tendency
to second-guess ourselves and
it can lead to wasted time and
wrong answers.
Break things up: When you start
to feel panicked, look for a way to
change the focus. For example, Dr.
Cruger says that if he sees a question
that really throws him off during
a test—the kind of question that
makes him think, “Is this written in
English?!”—he will sometimes turn
to the last page and answer the last
question first. “Somehow breaking
up the routine seems to be helpful
for getting things done,” he says.
“Other people have told me they do
this, too.”
Practice calming techniques:
Sometimes kids like to bring things
like worry stones into tests that they
can use almost like a stress ball.
Practicing deep breathing and using
mindfulness techniques can also be
effective.
Accept when you don’t know
something. Sometimes the best way
to manage your anxiety is to accept
that you don’t know the answer
to a question and move on. If you
feel like the test was unfair and
didn’t give you a chance to show
your knowledge, you can advocate
with the teacher later.
parents and teachers, who only want
to help, but Dr. Cruger points out
that “Kids are being asked to learn
lots and lots of stuff from very well
intentioned adults all the time.”
If they don’t understand the
rationale behind a new study
method, they probably aren’t
going to adopt it, so parents and
professionals working with kids
should be explicit about how a new
technique might be helpful.
But when kids start feeling like
they’ve studied well and they know
the material and they have strategies
to fall back on if they need them,
their attitudes going into a test will
transform. And having the right
attitude is important. “I think the
best test-taking mindset is something
along the lines of ‘I’m a monster, I’m
going to kill this test. There’s no way
I can be fooled or do badly,’” says Dr.
Cruger.
Accommodations. Some kids
who really struggle with test
anxiety may also be eligible for
accommodations during test time.
For example, some kids might
need to get up and take a break
during a test if they are really
starting to panic and need to calm
themselves down. Sometimes kids
get more time because they aren’t
working at an optimal speed
because they’re experiencing low
grade panic throughout the test.
Kids may even be eligible for a
modified version of the test.
Finding success
Sometimes it can be hard to
convince kids to start using new
study or test-taking strategies.
“You always need to sort of
sell kids on the idea of trying
something different,” warns Dr.
Cruger. This can be frustrating for
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