Test anxiety. It’s something most —if not all– students experience at least once during their academic journeys. As a 1st or 2nd grader, I definitely didn’t feel it, but when 3rd grade rolled around, I think the test anxiety really started to kick in. Every time before a major test, my hands would start sweating, my heart would start pounding, and I would start nervously fidgeting. Maybe I had it worse than others, but at least from what I’ve heard from my friends and those around me, others experience and have experienced similar symptoms. However, some say that test anxiety isn’t bad at all. It’s been argued that it is simply a natural reaction, and a moderate amount of nervousness has been shown to aid your performance on exams (VeryWell Mind). But how does test anxiety affect your mental health? How do you know when you’re experiencing an unhealthy amount? Let’s answer these and other questions below.
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Test anxiety can be exhibited in a couple of key forms, and symptoms can be mild but also severe (VeryWell Mind). These symptoms can be anything from the feeling of “having butterflies in your stomach” and sweating to panic attacks. There’s a couple of key things I’ve observed about test anxiety. One important thing I noticed is that as the stakes get higher, my test anxiety gets higher. This would explain why I feel more nervous on a final exam than some meager 5-point quiz. It would also explain why my test anxiety has progressively gotten worse; grades matter more and more as you advance from preschool and elementary to high school and college. Peer, parental, and even societal pressures helped raise the stakes. Another thing I noticed was that test anxiety would often make recalling important info a lot more difficult, which is a huge blow to one’s performance on exams.
Some tips I have for managing this anxiety are as follows:
Skip over questions that are giving you a hard time and then come back to them later if you have time left. Tackle the easier questions first, which could give you hints on how to solve the harder ones.
Take a deep breath in. Hold it for about 7 seconds. Take a deep breath out. Repeat this until you feel calmer and the sensation of your heart pounding “a million times an hour” fades away.
If your test is on paper, write down important formulas, facts, and other key information that you’ll need as soon as you receive your copy of the test.
Think of something that makes you naturally calm and happy. Whether it’s the beach, the forest, or the mountains, imagine being in that place for about 30 seconds.
Take practice tests and go through many practice problems before the actual test so that you feel comfortable on test day.
Try to get good and consistent amounts of sleep, especially before test day. Being cranky and sleep-deprived will not aid your mood on test day, let alone your anxiety levels.
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For many, test anxiety disappears right after or towards the end of a test, but for those such as myself, a second wave of anxiety immediately kicks into overdrive –nervousness about test scores. For scores on major tests, such as the SAT or finals, that are set to come out, I often find myself frantically refreshing the scores page or Infinite Campus (a score-reporting software for my school) in the weeks or in worse cases, months leading up to the official date of the score release. In fact, it’d sometimes get so bad to the point of me trying to look on Reddit for website glitches to somehow see my scores early. If you’ve experienced something akin to what I’ve described above, I have a couple of key tips for you:
Refrain from talking with others, whether that be through face-to-face conversations or the Internet, about the test after taking it. Try to forget about the test after completing it and attempt to wipe it from your memory. Talking about the test only makes you desperate to find out more questions you got right (or wrong). It can also lead you to actively compare your test scores to others’, making you worry if you got a lower score than them.
Prepare as hard as you can in the days, weeks, or months leading up to the test so that you know you tried your best on the test and that you couldn’t have possibly done any better. This way, you’ll know that the test score you receive is the result of your best efforts and that the outcome could not have been altered in a significant way. HOWEVER, do not prepare hard to the point of overworking or burning yourself out, and try to practice healthy studying habits (e.g. remembering to take breaks & drinking a lot of water).
Know that test scores do not define you. I know you may have heard this a lot, but that’s only because it is true. Test scores may reflect the amount of effort you poured into studying –not your level of intelligence or worth. Lastly, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.
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Unfortunately, we’re going to have to take tests during our lifetimes, and the test anxiety that we so abhor is going to often reappear. What we can change though, is our attitudes towards the tests and exams we take and take actions such as the ones laid out above to significantly cut down on or hopefully even eliminate test anxiety.
Below are some links to videos and articles explaining effective study methods!
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