Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is a very common form of anxiety that can occur prior to or during a test. A little bit of anxiety before or during a test can be helpful -- it can help your performance. However, too much anxiety can affect performance in a negative way. Here we'll take a look at some strategies that can really help with reducing test anxiety.

Here are some things you can do to help with this form of anxiety.

Prepare. Being prepared is a key component to doing well during the test. Often times the anxiety that occurs during testing is due to the fact that the person writing the test simply is unprepared, and they know it. They still want to have a good outcome, and they feel anxiety as a result -- they do not believe that they will do well on the test.

Focus on what you've accomplished. Spend a few moments each day after you complete your studies or activities and focus on what went well. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!

Stay positive and focus on any weak areas. Take some time to focus on any weak areas in order to further develop your confidence.

Visualize. Picture yourself doing well on the test, and yourself enjoying every moment of it.

Arrive early Arriving early can help with your confidence as you will feel more prepared. Being organized can really help with stress reduction.

Relax. Even if your mind goes blank during the test or you feel intimidated when you begin, relax and focus on what you know. By remembering just the smallest detail of what you studied, you should begin to recall what you committed to memory and the answers should come to you.

Create a cheat sheet. Don't cheat by any means, it's definitely not even necessary! The cheat sheet referred to here is a way to make notes of the major items that you've studied for, and then write them down immediately after the test begins. Here's how it works: commit everything you've studied to memory and create a one-page sheet that will help remind you of what you've studied. Make sure it's easy to memorize, it just needs to remind you of what you've already learned (it's very useful for things such as formulas). Once you've memorized your one page cheat sheet, you should be able to write it on command. Once the test starts, take the first 5-10 minutes to write out your sheet before looking at the questions. Remember, do not write out anything before hand and bring it with you (that would definitely be considered cheating.) What you want to do is only write it out after the test has already started.

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