Addressing Test Anxiety By Sara Hofmann, Ph.D.

As the end of the school year approaches, students of all ages are preparing for a barrage of tests- and for many students, that means months of test anxiety. Test anxiety often interferes with effective studying and recall, which negatively affects test performance and creates more fear for the next test. Fortunately, there’s a lot that parents can do to help children break this cycle.

1. Talk through the anxiety. Chances are, your child feels comfortable with many aspects of the test but a few are giving him or her pause. Is your child nervous about reading the questions, staying seated, or filling in a Scantron? Identifying the challenging parts of test-taking will help you and your child to address those specific issues, and also provides an opportunity to review the parts of test-taking that the child handles well.
2. Review skills for specific types of tests. Will your child need to know how to answer true/false questions? Fill in the blank? Multiple choice? Essay? Knowing what’s expected helps to reduce anxiety and suggests a set of teachable skills you can practice with your child at home.
3. Practice effective study skills. Cramming information the night before a test isn’t an effective way to retain information long-term. Assist your child in setting up a study schedule that incorporates a realistic timeframe and makes allowances for other commitments, like sports practice or a family trip.
4. Work smarter, not harder. Maybe you always used flashcards as a kid, or color-coded outlines were your guaranteed A strategy. However, your child’s cognitive processes may benefit most from a different strategy. Show your child a wide variety of options for studying and don’t forget about online options like Quizlet, Flashcards+, and SimpleMind.
5. Breathe. Test anxiety often manifests in body-based symptoms such as a pounding heart, shallow breathing, and muscle tension. To reduce these symptoms, teach your child a basic routine to reduce anxiety before tests: take three deep breaths, flex the hands, and stretch the neck and shoulders to release tension.
6. Get help when they need it. Your child may need extra support to do their best at school. Ask your child’s teacher about extra practice, tutoring, or other support available through the school. Online resources such as Khan Academy can also be helpful.
7. Keep it in perspective. Tests are important. However, chances are that your child also shines in a lot of other ways! The measure of success is not getting a perfect score on one test on one day. Your child is working hard on homework, extracurriculars, friendships, growing up, and being a positive member of your family. When he or she is feeling anxious, remind your child of past successes on tests as well as all the other ways in which they are successful on a daily basis.
8. Debrief. After the test, ask your child how they felt. If your child is happy with the grade they earned, review what steps he or she took to earn that grade and emphasize that the child’s effort created the positive outcome. If the grade is not what your child was hoping for, talk about what might work better next time. Help your child to identify techniques they may want to add or modify in the future to improve performance.

 
For more information:
http://www.pbs.org/parents
www.understood.org

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