Chapter 3

Reducing Test Anxiety

What Is Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety is a psychological condition that can cause a significant amount of stress related to preparing for and taking an examination. Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety because the individual is under pressure to do well in order to pass. A person with test anxiety experiences tension and stress before, during, and possibly after finishing an exam. Test anxiety can block the thinking processes and cause poor performance with testing, regardless of the amount of preparation for the exam. This chapter provides some tips and strategies to help you prevent test anxiety and to reduce the anxiety if it occurs. However, if you feel that your test anxiety is so overwhelming that you are unable to focus or concentrate, seek assistance. As a starting point, you may want to contact your advisor to discuss your test anxiety experiences.

How Can You Know If You Have Test Anxiety?

You have attended all your classes, you have done all your reading assignments, you have participated in class discussions, and you followed your study plan. Then the day of the test arrives, and you feel so nervous that you freeze up and are unable to focus, think, or concentrate. It is normal to feel a little nervous and stressed before a test, and actually a little anxiety can keep you sharp and alert during testing. But if the anxiety is overwhelming and you cannot control it, your thinking processes will be blocked, you will have difficulty focusing and concentrating, and you will forget the material that you learned.

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Student-to-Student

When you arrive at the place where you will be taking a test, do not discuss your methods of preparation, what you studied, or the content that you think may be on the test with other students. Other students may bring up content that you feel as though you didn’t prepare enough for, causing your anxiety to increase.

What Causes Test Anxiety?

Taking a test can be stressful because you know that you need to perform well to pass the exam. Physiologically, when you feel stressed your body releases a hormone called adrenaline, which prepares you for the stressful situation. This is called the fight or flight response and is the same physiological response that occurs when someone encounters a dangerous situation. When the adrenaline is released, the physical symptoms of sweating, the heart pounding, and rapid breathing occur.

Someone who worries about everything or who thinks that he or she needs to achieve a perfect test score is likely to experience test anxiety. This person, who may be termed a perfectionist, may find it difficult to obtain anything less than a perfect score and may experience test anxiety because of the great pressure and stress being placed on oneself.

A person with negative thoughts about how he or she will perform promotes test anxiety. Previous experiences, such as poor performance on a previous test, can affect how one might feel about testing. Negative experiences can affect self-confidence and the belief that one can be successful. Focusing on the negative takes a lot of energy and drains the individual of energy needed to perform because it causes fatigue and makes the individual feel worse. This pessimistic view of how one might perform creates more intense feelings of anxiety and distracting thoughts, setting the stage for failure on the exam.

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Lifestyle Planning

Planning your time and ensuring there is enough uninterrupted time allotted to preparing for exams will help avoid the experience of test anxiety. Look as far ahead as possible in the semester in planning life commitments and obligations and ensure that you plan accordingly around exam dates.

Another cause of test anxiety is a lack of preparation for the exam. If you are not prepared for an exam, then you will be worried about passing and this will produce anxiety. Anxiety from lack of preparation occurs as a result of failing to organize and manage your time, poor study habits, not studying enough, or feeling tired because of being up all night and cramming for the test.