Assisting Students to Overcome Test Anxiety

Every human copes with anxiety at one time or another. It is a basic emotion that we feel when something is perceived as a threat. Anxiety is a valuable tool, which humans use to avoid danger. However, anxiety can be a negative emotion when taken to extremes.
Many students feel threatened when they have to write exams and tests. They fear they will not do well, which results in a high anxiety level. This can result in failure, underachievement and psychological stress. Even if the student has superior knowledge of the subject, he may perform poorly because of a high test anxiety level. This can cause an inability to succeed in vocational and educational opportunities.
Characteristics
Test anxiety is made up of three major factors: affective, behavioral and cognitive.
Affective
This is when the student experiences a physiological reaction such as nausea, dry mouth, frequent urination, cold hands, muscle spasms, increased perspiration or an increased heart rate. These symptoms often appear hours before the test begins and continues during the test and for hours afterward. Panic, fear and worry may also be present. Students are unable to control these symptoms or their emotions, which contributes to an even greater stress level. When this occurs, students find it very difficult to concentrate.
Students who experience test anxiety are inefficient when it comes to studying. They procrastinate and then when they try to cram for the test they cannot concentrate. This is largely due to the fact that they have trouble deciphering information and organizing it into understandable blocks. Other factors include diet, physical exhaustion due to poor sleep habits and lack of physical exercise.
Overcoming Test Anxiety
Parents, school counselors, teachers and school administrators can assist students in managing test anxiety.
Parents
Parents can help students overcome test anxiety by:
Teachers
Teachers can assist students by:
Administrators
Administrators can assist students in overcoming stress anxiety by:
School Counselors
School counselors can assist students in overcoming test anxiety by:
Test anxiety impacts students from all walks of life, from every ethnic background and from every grade level. It's imperative that parents, teachers, school administrators and counselors recognize the signs of test anxiety and work together to see that each and every student is guided through the process of reducing test anxiety and stress to ensure academic success, which is every student's right.
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