Strategies to Reduce Testing Anxiety
By Andrea Morgan, LCSW
Intense fear of failure, anxious thoughts,
dizziness, sweating etc. Worse than
that, the ultimate blank you might experience when you freeze up and can’t
remember a single thing you studied for hours the night before. Sound
familiar? You guessed it! I am talking about Testing Anxiety. Believe it or not, you might not be the only
one that’s avoided taking a test, or who has high tailed it out of the Testing
Center.
This experience can be traumatizing to say the least. Yet students often drop classes when they
fail exams, not even realizing there could be a term, let alone supportive
services, for what they are going through.
Below are a few strategies for
addressing this very common problem among college students. If you find these strategies are not
enough to help, our campus counseling center provides solutions for addressing
this problem (801) 957-4268.
Testing
Strategies
· Prepare-give
yourself plenty of time to cover the material you will be tested on. If you have procrastinated for your upcoming
test, do your best, and set up a better study system for next time!
· Be positive-stay
centered in the idea you can pass your exam.
Avoid negative or self-defeating thoughts.
· Know testing protocol-ask
ahead of time if you need pencils, paper, calculators etc., and whether or not
your school I.D. will be required. Make
sure you are clear about your testing location.
· Arrive rested and on time-get
a good night sleep the night before your exam.
Exercise if needed to tire yourself out!
Arrive to your exam with enough time to go in and feel relaxed, not
rushed.
· Eat healthy-make
sure you go into your exam well fed. Avoid
excess sugar, caffeine, junk food etc.
· Relax-
being able to relax will increase your focus and concentration. Know your method of relaxing, and take a few
deep breaths to signal yourself into this state before you start your exam.
· Wear loose clothing-make
sure you are comfortable during the exam.
It will assist you in relaxing and breathing deeply.
· Pay attention to detail-read
questions thoroughly and pay attention to your time frame. Answer what you know first, and then return
to the other questions. Review your test
at the end to ensure you have completed all questions.
· Congratulate yourself-it
takes a lot of courage to face your fears.
Every time you take a test you learn something new about yourself and
your abilities. Use this information to
improve each time you test.
· Seek help-The Center for Health &
Counseling at Salt Lake
Community College provides support to students who are struggling to
resolve Testing Anxiety. Call (801)
957-4268 for support today!
