Test Anxiety

Recently I provided a post-midterm evaluation emails to some students who seem to be struggling. I have one student whose attendance is excellent, completes all her assignments,passes her in-class quizzes, and participates in class fairly well. Unfortunately her marks from the midterms were on the low side. In my email I expressed my interest in seeing her succeed especially for finals approaching in June. In the end, I gave her an opportunity to email or talk to me or the main instructor for suggestions. She emailed on the same day thanking for giving her the heads up. One of the issue she had was test anxiety. She claims she does her review fairly well however when comes to practical exams she blanks out. Obviously she's not alone as many students experience various degrees of test anxiety. 

I thought about her email,  I decided to tap in to the experienced staff at the vocational college I work at.  I was thrilled to receive many ideas and suggestions.

Suggestions we can give to our students.

                                                                                                           credit yahoo images. 

To my surprise, many of them encouraged students use positive talk or affirmations. This is something I did not learn as a student but only recently for personal growth. But for test anxiety? Why not? Instead of saying "I will pass",  have them say "I am passing with flying colors" it's a huge difference in confidence and impact on our spirit. Using the word "will" expresses inner doubt or it may not happen in the near future. But we DO want them to succeed now and in the near future. When using "I am" in any statement, you are stating the fact even though it has not happened but it will eventually manifested because you have faith, confidence, and belief in that statement. The feelings are positive and aligned with the statement, the student will most likely  overcome test anxiety and succeed.

 Students preparation is one of the key ingredient in succeeding. Organize as soon as possible and be present at every class. Make sure there is opportunity in your class time or outside of class time for students to review or receive additional help from you as an instructor. Also, setting up a study schedule to avoid cramming too much on the last day.  Just study one hour a day for a week or 2 before exam time. Some prefer after the mid-terms up to the night before the final exam which is doable. It is a good idea to continue to review topics the students are struggling with. Also,it is best for students to reduce errands on the day before and the day of the exam time which can increase their stress level and anxiety as well. 

It is a a good idea for students to have trustworthy friend or family member who takes the student's success seriously. There are myriads ways of assisting the students: flash cards, review questions, notes, or practice mock exam. The trusted friend/family is the role of the quizzer when helping the student study for exams.

If the student has a trouble with a concept or ideas or information,  the student should not push it out of its mind because chances are that the topic will appear on the test.  Not being able to answer the questions on the test, can  increase test anxiety and decrease the test results.  It is a very good idea the student review the topics they are having trouble with before exam time. This could minimize the blank moments during the exam. 

Writing down or drawing the topics is helpful tool. For example, drawing a picture of deltoid muscle including the origin and the insertions of the muscle will help student remember visually and mentally more than reading from text book.  It's a powerful tool to retain information. 

During the exam, it is a good idea for students to have some strategies to calm the nerves such as grounding, breathing, take time with each questions (no more than a minute), or put a mark next to a question they are having trouble with and return to it when able. If it is a practicum exam, encourage the student to breathe, take a moment to think about the question before doing any actions. If the student need to look away from the examiner for a few seconds to ground or think about the question, that is a good option as well. The key here is confidence, they have the control over the exam and when they are in that frame of mind, the exam anxiety could be minimal. 

Finally, encourage students to make time for proper diet, good sleep, exercise to keep circulation flowing to the brain and body, and healthy socializing.

It is hard to avoid test anxiety, however with the available tools to reduce exam anxiety, the students should be able to see positive results.

Happy Studying!