Overcoming Test Anxiety

Study Skill 10.3 Overcoming Test Anxiety

Introduction

Shaky body, dry mouth, difficulty concentrating, overwhelming feeling of doom. We’ve all been there, or at least most of us have at one time or another. The feelings of anxiety that come with an important exam are common, and a small degree of stress can help us “rise to the occasion” during an exam. However, too much stress can really hurt our test performance. The key to overcoming test anxiety lies in your mental and physical preparation and mindset, so it’s important to learn what you can do both before and during an exam to manage this common issue.

Watch

• AsapTHOUGHT “7 Tips to Beat Exam Anxiety” (YT 4:36)

• College Info Geek: Test Anxiety (YT 9:02)

Visit

• ADAA “Test Anxiety” https://bit.ly/2Y8xjVC Links to an external site.

Key Ideas

• Test anxiety is COMMON! Over 95% of people report having some level of test anxiety at some time. Still, it’s important to protect against it to perform your best!
• Common causes of test anxiety include: fear of failure or lack of confidence, poor test history, or a lack of mental and physical preparation for the exam.
• Test anxiety can cause physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms.
• Some basic tips to manage test anxiety are: proper sleep and a balanced diet, test and setting familiarity, improving testing skills, long term test preparation, relaxation exercises, visualization and positive imagery, and confident self-talk.

Apply

• Take a few moments to write down some of your insecurities or worries about your testing abilities. After writing each one, take the time to write a rebuttal or reasons why you should be confident instead. It works!
• Compare and contrast your best and worst testing experiences. What went well during your good experiences? What behaviors or thoughts led to your bad experiences? What could you have done differently?
• Take the time to exercise one more time than you might normally during the week. Also, go to bed 30-60 minutes earlier 2-3 nights this week. Take note of the differences you feel.
• Make a plan! Think about an upcoming school exam. Work individually or by yourself to come up with a long-range study plan that would leave you well prepared for a test without having to cram at the last minute.