Let’s face it: today’s academic landscape is more competitive than ever. An issue that many students come across is putting all of their hard work and preparation onto paper in a stressful environment in what can manifest as a significant hurdle on their path to success: test anxiety.
Whether it’s standarized tests in a cavernous hall or in-class pop quizzes, the pressure to perform can become overwhelming for any student. For those pursuing academic excellence, it’s important to understand and manage test anxiety in a way that recognizes its root causes and effectively tackles the problem where it begins. It’s also key to find strategies that work for you: and that can start with sharing your concerns with a trusted friend, teacher, or a professional who completed an online Masters of School Counseling or similar qualification.
Test anxiety is a common condition for learners of all levels, affecting between 20 and 40% of students. A low level of anxiety before an exam is perfectly normal and can even benefit students. Still, excessive levels of anxiety can be debilitating and lead to lower levels of concentration, lapses in memory, and overall underperformance. By recognizing the signs of test anxiety early and implementing strategies that work for you, the impacts of the condition can be reduced and lead to a better result!
What Causes Test Anxiety?
There are plenty of symptoms that those affected by test anxiety can experience, including rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, spiralling negative thoughts, and difficulty focusing. There are a few key factors that really get the heart pumping when reading time is about to begin, including:
- Fear of Failure
Worrying about the consequences of performing badly, especially in tests that really matter like the SAT or ACT, is one of the biggest factors in test anxiety. Worries about disappointing your parents, teachers, or even yourself can make the feelings of anxiety far worse.
- Perfectionism
If you’re holding yourself to an unrealistically high standard, you may find that it’s causing lots of anxiety when faced with the possibility of making mistakes or not meeting these lofty expectations.
- Poor Preparation
Let’s face it: if you’re in the exam room, armed with a pen and a lack of preparation, seeing that blank page will set off sirens in your brain. Not preparing properly, whether that’s due to procrastination or not having the support that you need, will definitely contribute to test anxiety.
- Negative History with Exams
If you’ve failed an exam before, it can be hard to forget about when starting a new one, even if it’s got nothing to do with what you failed. This cycle of anxiety can lead to anticipation of similar outcomes and make anxiety worse.
How Can You Manage Test Anxiety?
It’s a daunting task, certainly, but with the right strategies and support system, you’ll be acing exams with a cool head in no time. Being empowered to regain control of how you’re feeling and approach the test with confidence is possible, and these strategies could be of assistance:
- Live a Healthy Life
Prioritizing your physical and mental well-being can be the first step to addressing test anxiety. You should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep every night, eat a balanced diet, and get regular exercise (at least a walk every day). Also, do things you love! Play an instrument, read a book, or just hang out with friends. Success in an exam room starts with what’s going on outside a study environment, so it’s important to think about how you can live a healthy life in a sustainable way.
- Find Out What Study Works For You
If you’re properly prepared for an exam, you won’t be as stressed out about it. Create a schedule in advance and break material down into chunks you can manage, and try things like teaching your friends or practicing with sample exam questions to really understand material.
- Get Help
Getting a teacher or parent involved at this stage can be extremely helpful if you need help with creating or sticking to a schedule, because being able to consistently work at something manageable is way better than trying to tackle everything at once. Incorporating small bits of study into your day-to-day activities is much more manageable (and easier to assist with) than trying to cram the night before your exam.
- Fight Those Negative Thoughts
Try and reframe negative attitudes into positive statements, like: “I’ll never pass this test!” could become: “I’ve prepared consistently for the past month, I think I can really do my best here!”. Seeking professional help from a counselor or psychologist can also be a huge boon if you’re having difficulty with spiraling even after talking to another trusted adult.
- Develop a Strategy for the Big Day
Prepare for the day as best you can: think about skimming through the whole test before you start answering questions, tackle the easy questions before attempting the more difficult ones, and manage your time well so you don’t feel pressured by the clock! Most importantly, remember that (if you’ve followed these steps) you’ve prepared as well as you could have, so now you can focus on putting all of that effort into doing your very best on the exam!
In the face of test anxiety, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. Test anxiety is a common challenge that lots of learners face and you’ll be sat in an exam hall with many others who are just as, if not more, nervous about what you’re about to do. However, it doesn’t have to dictate your academic success, and your worth as a student and a person isn’t determined by an exam result.
By understanding how test anxiety works and implementing practical, personalized, and sustainable strategies to manage it, you can develop confidence in your ability to perform well on exams. Remember that your well-being comes first, and making sure you take care of your body and mind can have seriously positive impacts on any kind of learning pursuit you choose to follow. Believe in yourself, stay focused, and never underestimate the power of looking for help when you really need it – I’m sure it’s not far away.
MindOwl Founder – My own struggles in life have led me to this path of understanding the human condition. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy before completing a master’s degree in psychology at Regent’s University London. I then completed a postgraduate diploma in philosophical counselling before being trained in ACT (Acceptance and commitment therapy).
I’ve spent the last eight years studying the encounter of meditative practices with modern psychology.