If your student struggles with test anxiety, you're probably familiar with how it can take over. Students can be fully prepared and still blank out during the exam. Whatever your student's symptoms look like, there are ways to lower their stress. Here are answers to a few common questions.
What does test anxiety look like?
Symptoms usually fall into three groups:
Physical: headache, nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, a pounding heart, lightheadedness
Emotional: helplessness, fear, anger, disappointment
Cognitive: negative self-talk, comparing oneself to others, trouble concentrating, blanking out
Where does it come from?
Almost every student has felt stressed before an exam. Test anxiety is different: it comes back again and again and consistently gets in the way of performance. It affects students of every ability level, and it often traces back to the same factors:
Seeing test scores as a measure of personal worth
Feeling a lack of control
Being tested above their level and feeling they'll never meet expectations
Worrying about running out of time
Feeling unprepared. How prepared students feel matters more than how prepared they actually are.
How should students prepare?
Start early instead of cramming. Studying over several weeks lets material sink in and builds confidence. Use the last week to review, not to learn new material. A relaxing evening the night before is a good reminder that the test isn't the only thing that matters.
Practice in test-like conditions. Students recall information better when they're tested in conditions similar to how they studied. Take practice tests at a desk in a quiet room, and for the digital SAT, practice on a device in the Bluebook app.
Build healthy habits. In the week before the test, keep a steady sleep schedule and practice waking up at test-day time. Eat a filling, protein-rich breakfast. If your student usually drinks coffee or tea, that's fine; if not, test day isn't the day to start.
Plan something fun for afterward. Having something to look forward to can help when stress spikes during the exam.
What if my student panics during the test?
Practice a calming cue. Choose a short phrase and practice relaxing to it at home in the weeks before the test. Repeating it silently during the exam can help calm a racing heart or shaking hands.
Try box breathing. Inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. Repeat. Some students picture tracing a square.
Come back to the physical world. If thoughts start spiraling, gently pressing feet into the floor or squeezing hands can help.
Use specific, positive self-talk. "I can do this" is good; remembering a real time you succeeded is better. For example:
Instead of "I always do poorly on tests," try "I prepared well this time, and I got a 90 on my last math test."
Instead of "If I don't hit my goal, I'm a failure," try "This is one test, and I can take it again if I want a higher score."
Instead of "This test is full of trick questions," try "I've seen these question types before and know what to look for."
Instead of "There's too much to know," try "I know most of this material, and that's enough to do well."
Ignore everyone else. Other students working quickly doesn't mean they know the answers, and their answers have no effect on your student's score.
Bring a lucky charm. Even Olympic athletes do it.
Students with anxiety may also qualify for testing accommodations, such as small-group testing or extra breaks. See our post on understanding accommodations for more.
What if these strategies aren't enough?
These techniques take practice, especially reframing negative thoughts. But sometimes the best step is talking with a counselor or therapist. Students who are highly perfectionistic or anxious often benefit most. Test anxiety can be one sign of a larger issue, and a professional can help students understand the cause and turn their drive to do well into something healthier.
