Easing Test Anxiety
Tips to relieve test stress
For some kids, there’s nothing more alarming than an empty exam book or rows of blank boxes staring up from a standardized test. But tests are a fact of life, so how can parents help kids deal with the stress of test taking?
What Causes Worry
“As schools focus more on testing, we’ll see more test anxiety,” says Lori Crosby, PsyD, in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s.
“Psychologically, test anxiety is most closely associated with social phobia, which is fear of performance or of an evaluative situation,” Dr. Crosby says. “If teens already have an anxious temperament and have a bad test experience, they’re more at risk for test anxiety.”
She adds that study habits are a factor, too. “Students who haven’t developed good study skills are more likely to suffer, as are teens without good time management, who often feel overwhelmed at test time.”
Tactics for Exam Day
Students can try new strategies to cope with exams, Dr. Crosby says. “To reduce anxiety, the teenager can prepare by studying, then visualize the test going well. Remember to breathe deeply before and during the test.”
If a question or section stumps a student, she suggests teens skip that portion and go on to something they know. “That keeps confidence up and calms teens down.” Some students place a plain piece of paper over parts of the test to help them focus on a specific
set of questions.
Homework Help
Parents can help anxious children work through stress with exercise, good nutrition and plenty of sleep. “Help them get more organized,” Dr. Crosby advises, “and give them messages of confidence.”
At home, students can learn to relax by taking timed practice tests, over and over, until the fear dissipates. “If they get used to pressure in that situation, they may do better in a classroom.”
Watch Cues From Others
It’s been proven that people with test anxiety use less effective coping mechanisms, Dr. Crosby says. “So parents might teach their children how they cope with a bad day at work, how they rebound and refocus.”
Sometimes, it’s as simple as the child avoiding others who have negative attitudes about a test. Fear can fuel fear.
Prep Program Pros and Cons
As older students prepare for college entrance exams, do preparatory programs help or hurt?
“It’s really up to teens to know themselves,” Dr. Crosby says. “If prep classes demystify the test so a student thinks, ‘I’ve seen this before,’ that’s great. But if an instructor says, ‘Now remember this’ or ‘Don’t forget that,’ it could add anxiety. Ideally, prep classes teach
a student how to think about the test, not to worry about the answers."
