### Strategies for Preventing and Controlling Test Anxiety

For many test-takers, preparing for a test and taking a test can easily cause worry and anxiety. In fact, most students report that they are more stressed by tests and schoolwork than by anything else in their lives, according to the American Test Anxiety Association. Most of us have experienced this. It is normal to feel stress before an exam, and in fact, that may be a good thing. Stress motivates you to study and review, generates adrenaline to help sharpen your reflexes and focus while taking the exam, and may even help you remember some of the material you need. But suffering too many stress symptoms or suffering any of them severely will impede your ability to show what you have learned. Test anxiety anxiety is a psychological condition in which a person feels distressed before, during, or after a test or exam to the point where stress causes poor performance. Anxiety during a test interferes with your ability to recall knowledge from memory as well as your ability to use higher- level thinking skills effectively. There are steps you should take if you find that stress is getting in your way, many of which are common test prep strategies:

- • prepared. Aprimary cause of test anxiety is not knowing the material. If you take good • prepared. Aprimary cause of test anxiety is not knowing the material. If you take good class and reading notes and review them regularly, this stressor should be greatly reduced if not eliminated. You should be confident going into your exam (but not overconfident).
- • One of the best ways to prepare for an exam is to take practice tests. To • One of the best ways to prepare for an exam is to take practice tests. To overcome test-taking anxiety, practice test-taking in a test-like environment, like a study room in the library. Practice staying calm, relaxed and confident. If you find yourself feeling overly anxious, stop and start again.
- • negative thoughts . Your own negative thoughts -'I'll never pass this exam' or 'I • negative thoughts . Your own negative thoughts -'I'll never pass this exam' or 'I can't figure this out, I must be really stupid!'- may move you into a spiraling stress cycle that in itself causes enough anxiety to block your best efforts. When you feel you are brewing a storm of negative thoughts, stop what you are doing and clear your mind. Allow yourself to daydream a little; visualize yourself in pleasant surroundings with good friends. Don't go back to work until you feel the tension release. Someti mes it helps to take a deep breath and shout 'STOP!' in your head and then proceed with clearing your mind. Once your mind is clear, repeat a reasonable affirmation to yourself -'I know this stuff'- before continuing your work.
- • success. Picture what it will feel like to get that A. Translate that vision into • success. Picture what it will feel like to get that A. Translate that vision into specific, reasonable goals and work toward each individual goal. Take one step at a time and reward yourself for each goal you complete.
- • all about you! Don't waste your time comparing yourself to other students in the class, • all about you! Don't waste your time comparing yourself to other students in the class, especially during the exam. Keep focused on your own work and your own plan. Exams are not a race, so it doesn't matter who turns in their paper first. Certainly, you have no idea ho w they did on their exam, so a thought like 'Kristen is already done, she must have aced it, I wish I had her skills' is counterproductive and will only cause additional anxiety.
- • a plan and follow it. As soon as you know that an exam is coming, you can develop • a plan and follow it. As soon as you know that an exam is coming, you can develop a plan for studying. As soon as you get your exam paper, you should develop a plan for the exam itself. We'll discuss this later in this chapter. Don't wait to cram for an exam at the last minute; the pressure you put on yourself and the late-night will cause more anxiety, and you won't learn or retain much.