Testing Anxiety

• What is Test Anxiety?
• How to prepare for testing
• Test taking tips
• What to do after the test
• Our school counseling resources

Overview

​

What is Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety is a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions that interfere with your ability to perform well on tests.

​

Many students experience varying levels of test anxiety for a number of difference reasons. Some symptoms include:

Racing thoughts

Inability to concentrate

Feelings of dread can combine with physical symptoms like:

Fast heartbeat

Headache

Nausea

Test anxiety has the power to derail weeks and months of hard work.

​

​

​

What is Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety is a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions that interfere with your ability to perform well on tests.

​

Many students experience varying levels of test anxiety for a number of difference reasons. Some symptoms include:

Racing thoughts

Inability to concentrate

Feelings of dread can combine with physical symptoms like:

Fast heartbeat

Headache

Nausea

Test anxiety has the power to derail weeks and months of hard work.

​

​

​

How to Prepare

How can I prepare for a test?

1. Work on practice tests
2. Remind yourself of past successes. You can do it!
3. Visualize completing the test successfully despite your anxiety
4. Get adequate night's sleep before the exam and try to relax during the evening/morning using one of these coping skills
5. Avoid over-caffinating on the day of the exam
6. Pack everything you need for the exam the night before and set the alarm, so you can get out the door on time
7. Eat a nutritious breakfast before the test and pack smart snacks for ongoing energy
8. Quick Video Review

​

TESTING

TIPS

​

TEST TAKING TIPS �

• Get to the test site a little early, but try to avoid talking with other students right before the exam (their anxieties may increase your own.)
• If possible, take a walk around the building. Moving your body can help rid you of some of the nervous energy you are experiencing.
• Practice self regulation exercises
• Meditation video
• Exercise (take a walk around the building)
• Positive Self-Talk (tell yourself you can do it!)
• Deep Breathing video
• Visualization (visualize yourself acing the exam)
• Grounding Technique
• If possible, choose a seat in a place with few distractions (probably near the front).
• Remind yourself that you don’t know all the material that could possibly appear on the test and nobody else does either.
• Expect a few curve balls on the exam. Remind yourself that you're not expecting to get 100% on the exam; you're expecting to do well.
• When you encounter a curve ball on the exam, don’t get upset and lose your concentration. Instead, you can either make an intelligent guess now or mark the question and return later.

​

TEST TAKING TIPS �

• If you begin to have negative thoughts, say STOP to yourself and give yourself a pep-talk.
• Move your body. Roll your shoulders, stretch your legs, get up for a bathroom break if it's allowed. 
• Do not obsess about running out of time on the test. Check the time periodically, but avoid checking too frequently, as this will only distract you and make you more anxious.
• HERE’S THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP: Don't obsess about a particularly difficult question. If you're unsure of the answer, guess and move on. Remind yourself that you can miss several questions and still do well.

�Review video

​

TEST TAKING TIPS �

• If you continue to feel overly anxious, do the following ANXIETY CONTROL PROCEDURE to reduce your tension.

​

• This exercise is so simple that you may be skeptical about its effectiveness. However, many students have found that it really helps lower their anxiety to a level that is helpful rather than harmful.
• Close your eyes
• Breathe in slowly to the count of seven and exhale to the count of seven
• Continue this slow breathing until you actually feel your body begin to relax. (Most people find that it takes 2 to 4 sequences.)
• Open your eyes and give yourself a positive, very specific self-talk
• (i.e., "You will do well. You studied hard. You’re doing the best you can.") This whole procedure should take only about a minute and it's well worth the time.

Review video

​

​

TEST IS OVER,

WHAT NOW?

After the Test

• TALK: Talk about it with your teacher or parents about how you think it went. Focus on the positive, but it’s okay to express whether you felt frustrated or worried at times during the test.
• REWARD YOURSELF: You deserve it!
• REST! You just worked really hard! If you have test anxiety, the stress your mind and body just went through probably took quite a toll. Give yourself some time to relax if you can.
• Move ON with your life! There is nothing left for you to do. Worrying about how you did won’t change anything, so with the words of a popular snow queen , LET IT GO! Remind yourself that you did the absolute best you can do. 

​

​

School Counseling Resources

For more information on counseling groups, parent webinars, resources etc. Please visit our student support counseling website ��If you have any more questions, please connect with a counselor during office hours Mon-Fri

THANKS!

Downs, C. (n.d.). Brown University. Retrieved from Managing Testing Anxiety: https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/support/counseling-and-psychological-services/index.php?q=managing-test-anxiety