Test Anxiety
Test
anxiety is common to students and can be a motivator to study harder
or can be a big problem if starting to affect performance.
In the life of
every student, exams are usually one of the stressful events to go
through. Most often than not, we feel anxious every time examination
periods are about to come. It is normal for most students to
experience some levels of anxiety during exams. It common to all the
students and I am sure that we had our own share of anxiety during
exams, hadn’t we? Anxiety is a human’s natural response to a
stressful situation. The test anxiety can become a powerful
motivator; it can make you study harder to be able to excel. But, if
this test anxiety starts to affect exam performance it has become a
problem.
The symptoms of
test anxiety are but not limited to:
 | Physical –
headaches, nausea, or diarrhea, extreme body temperature
changes, excessive sweating, shortness of breath,
light-headedness or fainting, rapid heart beat, and/dry mouth,
tense muscle |
| Emotional –
excessive feelings of disappointment, anger, depression,
uncomfortable crying or laughing |
| Behavioral
– fidgeting, pacing, substance abuse, avoidance |
| Cognitive –
racing thoughts, going blank, difficulty concentrating, negative
self-talk, feelings of dread, comparing yourself to others,
difficulty organizing your thoughts. |
The probable
causes of test anxiety can be lack of preparation indicated by
cramming the night before the exam, poor time management, failure to
organize text information, poor study habits; or, worrying about
previous performance on exams, how other students are doing, the
negative consequences of failure.
For the better
part, there are several techniques that can be done to control your
test anxiety, and these are:
| Preparation
– study and know the material well enough so that you can still
recall even if you are under stress, develop good study habits,
get enough rest, exercise, attend classes regularly and complete
all assignments, participate in all practical tests |
| Keep a
positive attitude – develop logical expectations, do not allow
your grades affect the outcome of your exams, avoid negative and
devastating results, set up a system of reward to yourself for
good results, encourage yourself. |
| Relaxation
techniques – proper breathing exercises, imagery and
visualization, muscle relaxation techniques can help increase
your concentration, don’t come too early for you might get
distracted, and make sure you have everything you need |
I n times when
you start feeling overwhelmed or when the fear comes, just pause and
do the proper breathing techniques as they can help you calm down,
and then keep focus on the present. Don’t try to eliminate your fear
totally, just keep it manageable. Convince yourself that you can
shake away your fear. Divert your attention or thoughts from fear,
or find something to keep fear out of your mind.
There are
several factors that can affect the efficiency of you study time.
Make sure that your place of study is quiet, no interruptions,
comfortable, clean, well facilitated, and with comfortable
temperature. A study without distractions can make you concentrate
more; therefore, test anxiety can be lessen if not eliminated.
Test anxiety can
be successfully managed depending on the level of your willingness.
If your mindset is having control over your anxiety, your chances to
success is great!
Back to Anxiety |
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