How to Overcome Test Anxiety
 The Background: What is Test Anxiety?
Test anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness having to do with examinations.
Uncontrollable levels of concern, fear and worry are the known reasons for
feeling uncomfortable before, during and even after examinations.
Most common among students, test anxiety is a combination of physiological perceptions that
include worry, dread, tension and other related pessimistic thoughts, this can
destroy a test-taker’s ability to comprehend questions in the tests and thus
perform poorly on exams. Anxiety interferes with the way students learn. Because
it hinders good academic performance measured by tests, it can often lead to
issues dealing with the emotional and social development of sufferers, with them
not having the ability to be confident about themselves because of their school performance. First
studied in the 1950s, George Mandler and Seymour Sarason identified that there
are different types of test anxiety which are separated into two categories:
general and focused.
Though anxiety at some level is quite normal and helpful to keep students
alert, extreme feelings of worry during test taking can become reasons for
physical, emotional and even psychological distress. Research shows that
students with test anxiety perform 12 % less than their peers who are not
suffering from the same issues. This is not because they have learning problems
or are suffering due to poor academic preparations, but rather because they tend
to feel threatened of test results and are unable to concentrate. When this
happens, they lose their focus and it disrupts their memory functions. It is
known that about 30 to 40 percent of students have test anxiety. Additionally,
those who belong to classes for gifted education tend to be more anxious than
those in the regular academic programs.
 Symptoms of Test Anxiety
Though it is normal to feel a little uncomfortable before taking important
tests, a chronic feeling of discomfort is a sign of having test anxiety.
Affecting people across intelligence levels and age groups, this inability to
concentrate during exams is connected to the human instinct of fighting for
survival. Whatever reasons there may be, people take the events of the exam as possible
challenges or threats and trigger the body to respond.
The following are the common symptoms of test anxiety:
- Upset stomach - Perhaps the most well-known symptom of test
anxiety, many students suffer from gastrointestinal problems. The feeling of
nervousness affects the digestive tract. This may include diarrhea, stomach
cramps or nausea. It is best that before taking tests, students with test
anxiety should eat light and avoid caffeinated liquids. Equally important,
they should not take a test on an empty stomach.
- Rapid heartbeat - This is typically the second symptoms to appear when
people with test anxiety are about to take exams. For them, even just the
thought of the test causes an increase in their heartbeat. When they are
overpowered with this discomfort, they lose control and can’t concentrate on
answering the questions on an exam. Though increased heart activity may be helpful for
circulation, too much of it can cause test blunders.
- Dry mouth - After all those runs to the restroom before heading to
school and the increased heartbeat upon opening the test questionnaires, the
hormones triggered by the sudden physiological change can also make the
mouth dry. It is wise for students with test anxiety to bring along a bottle
of water so they have the needed sips handy.
- Shallow but rapid breathing - Adding up to the first three quick
responses to tests is fast breathing. Because the brain needs enough supply
of oxygen to function well, people with test anxiety must counteract this
response. It is best to make the best out of breathing exercises to get back
on track. Breathe in and out for some moments until it feels
better.
Tips on How to Overcome Test Anxiety
The next time you need to take an exam, the following might help you overcome
test-induced anxiety.
1) Equip yourself
 Nothing
else can shake your confidence when you know you are prepared for battle. When
you have test anxiety, strengthen your abilities and knowledge by studying the
essential things covered by the scope of the exam. Start studying weeks or days
before the exam is scheduled. This will give you plenty of time to research further on the things that cause you
any confusion.
Improve your study habits by studying smaller bits of information rather than
pulling them on an all-nighter. You can even simulate taking the test on your
own by taking practice tests available on the internet. As you have conditioned
yourself to work under constraints, you will get to adjust with time limits
teachers put into tests takers.
2) Be test wise
 Not
all students who got high scores during exams are intellectually gifted.
Although intelligence will help people perform better on a test, it pays to be
able to crack the code to answering test questions. When you have anxiety when
you are taking exams, learn ways on how to develop your test taking skills.
Remember that essay-type questions demand students to pour out
the gist of what they have learned subjectively, objective type test like the
multiple choice readily gives the ideas out of hints people can find in the
passage or question itself. The best starting point for this is to learn to read
and understand directions. Additionally, never spend too much time on
one very challenging item because you may accidentally run out of time. Answer
questions that you know, and return to the skipped items if time permits. When
you have to write essays in a limited time period, a good strategy is to outline
the ideas you want to
include in your composition before writing.
3) Get enough sleep
 Staying up and trying to digest everything in one
sitting for the next morning’s test is absolutely unhealthy. If you have test
anxiety, consider the day before the test as your relaxation period. After you
have studied the things to be covered in an exam, go out and smell the flowers,
and give yourself enough time to regenerate some energy. Go to sleep early the
night before your tests. When you get enough rest, you are likely to wake up
fully energized and ready to take control of the day. Remember that lack of
sleep makes it difficult to manage mood. Additionally, when you are fighting
drowsiness, it is difficult to concentrate on the test. Research done by the
University Community Hospital in Tampa suggests that teens who get regular sleep have
perform much better in school, and develop a positive attitude towards learning
typically interacting better with their teachers and classmates. Sleep deprivation on the
other hand increases the chances of failing, depression and behavioral problems.
4) Be positive
 Your attitude will absolutely take you somewhere. When you
must take a test, don’t let anxiety eat at you. Remember that test scores alone do
not define an individual. Develop your self-confidence by being optimistic and
prepared. When you maintain a positive attitude towards things, you are also
strengthening your self-worth which is an essential factor in overcoming
difficulties. When you are looking at an exam questionnaire with your heart
pounding so fast, you lose control and everything you have studied shy away.
Attack the test with an “I can do it” attitude. With the confidence to face what
it takes to pass the test, people exert effort to understand concepts and are
more motivated to learn. With the motivation to learn comes the degree of
knowledge acquired and the ability to perform on tests with little to no worry.
5) Keep your focus
 Procrastinating even with your study times can make your
test performance suffer. Though it is healthy to take some rest from your
coursework in order to refocus, getting off track is a different story. When
exams are approaching, plan your schedules well, focusing on what has be done
first. To avoid cramming and sleepless night before the test, learn to decline
invitations to parties and hangouts. Instead of spending your energy on
socializing, prioritize your lessons. It will also be helpful to keep away from
distractions like unnecessary chats or phone messaging. When necessary, turn off
your gadgets so you won’t be tempted to set aside the notes you have to attack
your upcoming exam. Organize the materials you need for your exams and avoid the same mistakes
you made the last time you took the test.
Anxiety-Free Final Thoughts
It is likely that many have experienced some degree of test anxiety in the past.
These symptoms could have been feeling unprepared or worrying too much about
your grade on a test, even while you were still taking it. This is especially common when
exams are major ones like midterms or finals. This issue is even more serious when one lacks a positive
outlook and self-confidence- two very important tools that help students
overcome their issues related to test anxiety. Some people, no matter how prepared they were, just
can’t stop worrying making concentrating almost impossible.
Test anxiety does not only influence academic performance but also the over-all
feeling of self-worth and wellbeing. Research show that students who suffer from
test anxiety tend to drop out of school or survive with unsatisfactory grades.
With the present day getting even more competitive and fast paced, success in
life or in the job market may be founded on school performance. This generally
starts at an early age and reaches even through college. Perhaps, with the
demands from both parents and the educational system, students increasingly feel
anxious about taking academic measurements and, thus, perform poorly. Because it
plays a serious role in creating one’s future, overcoming test anxiety is a
major concern.
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