Pre- Exam Test Anxiety Assignment

What Is Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety occurs when feelings of worry and self-doubt interfere with a student's performance on a test. It can present as a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions, and becomes a problem when it prevents us from doing our best work.

What Are Some Signs Of Test Anxiety?

Many students struggle with test anxiety. It can present differently in every person, but common experiences include feeling extremely stressed, your heart racing, intrusive negative thoughts (such as feeling inadequate), not understanding the instructions during a test, and remembering correct answers only after you turn in the test.

What are Causes of Text Anxiety?

• • Fear of failure: it's good to have standards, goals and motivation, but the grade is not measurement of your value as a person!
  • Lack of preparation. Our fear of exams leads us to put off studying for the exam, which causes more fear. Preparing in advance is a powerful way to calm ourselves.
  • Poor test history. It is hard not to think about the last exam, when taking the current exam. But focusing on what is in front of us, in this very moment helps calm anxieties.
  • High pressure. You all have important goals, but focusing on your long term goal takes away from your ability to accomplish the current task. 
  • Perfectionism. There is a strong correlation between high expectations of ourselves with self criticism and anxiety.  We have to be able to make mistakes to learn. 

What Can I Do About Test Anxiety?

Week Before Exam

• • • Be prepared. Start studying  in advance and space your studying out into smaller chunks over time. 
    • Study effectively. Use the suggestions and techniques for active learning that we talk about in class or use in Canvas assignments.
    • Self-care: Eat well, get enough sleep, exercise or move each day and do things that you value and are fun such as spending time with loved ones or playing with your pet.
    • Create a calming worksheet. Have a piece of paper that you carry around with you that has  motivational quotes, why you are likely to succeed, breathing techniques, pictures of your supporters, and anything else that will keep you motivated without making you anxious.
    • Get an idea of what is on the exam and what to expect. Ask your professor, former students or look at the information in the syllabus.

Right Before the Exam

• • • Sleep: Get a good night’s sleep (7-9 hours) the night before the exam. Your ability to think clearly and to deal with anxiety improve with sleep.
    • Food: Eat something to help with focus and attention. Bring water to stay hydrated.
    • Caffeine: Avoid too much caffeine. 
    • Music: Play calming or familiar music to help you relax.
    • Self Worth:  remember that your self-worth and intelligence are not defined by this one exam
    • Reframe: Give yourself a pep talk to reframe your anxiety as excitement. 
    • Square Breathing: 

During the exam

• • • Calm your body.
      • • Breathe deeply from your belly.
        • Tighten various muscle groups, and then relax them.
        • Close your eyes and count to ten
    • Sit comfortably.
      • • Sitting up, relaxing your shoulders, and being mindful of your posture can help you feel more powerful, confident, and assertive. 
        • Research shows that slouching and hunching poses decrease people’s persistence and creativity when trying to solve complex problems and increase negative self-thoughts.
        • Research shows people have higher self-esteem and think of themselves more positively when they sit upright rather than hunched.
    • Calm your emotions and thoughts.
      • • Focus only on present moment to help you stay grounded. Example: “I am sitting at a desk in Lark Hall. It is 12  pm on Tuesday.”

• • • • • Avoid thoughts about the future or past. Example: “I need an A on this test in order to improve my g.p.a.”

• • • • • Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Example: “It’s okay if I can’t answer this question—I can answer another question instead.”

• • • • • Stay focused on the current task, which is to complete the test, not on how you believe it relates to your self-value.
        • Keep realistic expectations. Often times it is not realistic to expect a 100% on an exam. Be okay with doing well, not perfectly.
        • Focus on yourself and what you are doing. Ignore other people around you and don’t compare yourself to others.

Assignment

1.  Select at least one suggestion from each category and try implementing it. 

• • • Week Before Exam
    • Right Before the Exam
    • During the Exam - this will be one that you intend  to implement 

2.  Write a 250 word brief reflection on your experience with each of these techniques. Did using this technique change your experience with test anxiety? Would you use this technique again? Are there other techniques from the readings that you might try next time?

3. Submit your reflection here.