Dealing with Test Anxiety
When the test starts, she clenches her teeth as she doggedly works through the first several questions. Suddenly, she reaches one that she can't remember the answer for. She recalls going over that specific material; the answer must be somewhere in her brain. She grows tenser, trying to will the information to the front. Eventually, she realizes it won't come, and she glances at the clock.
Precious moments have ticked by, and she now starts to panic as she realizes she won't be able to finish the exam. She runs across another question she ought to know the answer for, and then one that doesn't even seem familiar.
When time's up, she turns in her exam but has a sinking feeling that she has probably failed it. Back in the dorm she pulls out her notebook while the test is still fresh in her mind. As soon as she glances down at the pages, the answers to the baffling questions come flooding back, even the ones she thought she had never heard of. She cradles her cheeks as her head slumps down in disappointment while wondering why she always seems to forget so much when it comes time to take a test.
Thousands of students struggle with this kind anxiety during examinations, not because they don't know the material but because they suffer such intense text anxiety that it negatively affects their ability to think clearly during exams.
Preparation
The first key to overcoming test anxiety is to prepare yourself by studying effectively. Being prepared is the only way to pass an exam, and adequate preparation also ensures that you are not overly anxious about your ability to perform well. Many students believe that effective test preparation relates to how many hours they have studied. This is not necessarily true. The quality of your studying is as important as the quantity.
Try choosing a study environment that works best for you and study material you feel you don't know very well in short spurts rather than marathon sessions. Include as much self-testing in your review as possible. Make up various types of practice tests to give yourself, essay, multiple choice, and true/false. Better still, if studying with other classmates, create practice tests and exchange them with each other so none of you take the tests you made yourself. Going through class notes and chapter summaries to create practice tests helps you review the material and exchanging tests gives each student in your group the chance to practice for the real exam. The more you get used to sitting for a period of time, pacing yourself, and answering practice test questions, the more relaxed you will feel when it's time to take the actual test.
Relaxation
Lack of sleep can contribute to poor concentration, memory loss, and anxiety, so be sure to eat a well balanced meal and get a good amount of sleep throughout your study schedule and especially the night before an exam. In other words, all night study sessions before a test are less beneficial than just skimming your notes one last time and going to bed.
When you feel anxious the tension causes both mental and physical symptoms. In addition to poor concentration and mental lapses during exams, test anxiety often causes physical symptoms as well, such as tense muscles, sweaty palms, nausea, cramps, or headaches. You can break the cycle of test anxiety by teaching yourself how to release both mental and physical tension. When you start feeling anxious, close your eyes, imagine yourself in a quiet peaceful setting, then take a couple of long deep breaths and exhale slowly.
While working on your breathing techniques try relaxing your muscles by concentrating on a specific muscle group, such as the shoulders, and contracting them for about ten seconds, then relaxing them while exhaling slowly. These techniques take only moments to do and if you practice them before tests you'll be able to use them when you feel anxiety during the actual test and make the experience a lot less stressful.
Positive Thinking
Self-doubts and negative thoughts can make it hard for you to concentrate and even make you freeze up during a test. Try practicing some positive self-talk. Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts such as "I never do well on tests", tell yourself things like, "I do well on these homework assignments" and "I can explain these concepts well, so I know I can pass this test." If you study with other classmates try to avoid those with negative attitudes and surround yourself with students with positive attitudes instead.
It may feel very strange at first, but keep it up. Set reasonable goals for yourself then build on your achievements and you'll be amazed how your confidence improves and test anxiety disappears in time. Remember, you don't have to know the right answer to every possible question on the test, you just have to pass. These affirmations can really help in more than just testing situations.
Being able to relax under conditions that normally create anxiety for you is the whole point of beating test anxiety. Set a study schedule and keep it up, practice relaxation techniques, get plenty of rest before a test, and turn your doubts into postive thoughts instead. Employing these test anxiety management strategies will help you earn higher grades and most likely lead to a very different scenario than the opening one:
A Better Test Taking Scenario
She confidently enters the classroom and sits in the chair that makes her most comfortable. As she waits for the testing to begin, she tells herself, "I studied hard and am ready for this exam. I know the material. I am going to pass this test." A few questions into the exam, a familiar tension begins to creep into her shoulders. She immediately stops, sits back and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath and visualizes the muscles in her shoulders relaxing. After a few seconds, the anxiety dissipates. She takes one more deep breath and returns to the test. Any time she runs into a question she doesn't know, she skips it quickly. Because of her efficient use of time, she has the time to return to the skipped questions at the end of the test. Some of these she now realizes she did understand, and others she answers as best she can. This time, when the period ends, she looks up the answers she didn't know and finds that they were largely concepts she didn't understand or didn't study.
So she learned the material, and she has learned an important skill in how to combat test anxiety. But most importantly to her, she passed the test. So can you.
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