Every student gets the occasional jitters when it’s time to take a test. But for some, taking a tests is a constant nightmare.
Test anxiety can produce physical symptoms. “Some actually get sick [vomit], develop headaches, or just stare blankly at the screen,” says Quoteshia Hargett, a third grade teacher at Brighton Elementary in Portsmouth, Virginia. “I have witnessed a student silently crying about taking a test.” These reactions can be debilitating for some kids, causing them to “blank out.”
Eysenck Attentional Control Theory states that anxiety impairs the resources of a student’s attentional system and increases the level to which processing competence depends on attentional control. Essentially, a student’s anxiety impedes the working memory, and there is less capacity to access everything your child has been studying. Connie Askew, a third grade teacher at James Hurst Elementary can attest to this. “Students can complete homework at their own pace and they can ask questions and get help, but when students take tests, it is all on the student and they have to only depend on themselves,” she says. Therefore, when the working memory is anxiety driven, students get stuck on questions, make more errors, or blank out while taking the test.
Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety, meaning your child gets frazzled because their performance really counts and there is pressure to succeed. The pressure can come from various sources, says Dr. Nancy Mramor Kajuth, Ph.D., a former teacher, who is now an Educational Psychologist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “The students’ needs may come from feelings of perfectionism or competition with peers or siblings. They involve a need to perform well in order to gain or maintain self-esteem.” Other outside pressures include a demanding academic curriculum, standardized testing expectations, and parents. In addition, a student could be struggling academically and may just need some extra help with tutoring.
A recent study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience regarding math anxiety. Forty-six third graders were assessed on their levels of anxiety and placed into a high anxiety or low anxiety group, depending on their assessment scores. When the children in the high anxiety group did simple math problems, the fear circuits in the brain and amygdala (the part of the brain that is accountable for triggering anxiety response) lit up. Children in both groups were given an eight-week, one-on-one tutoring sessions in simple math. All children performed better after tutoring, but the students who started out with high anxiety showed a significant decrease in anxiety. Although this study focused on math, Dr. Kajuth says repetition of subject manner can help with retention, therefore reducing anxiety and giving the student more confidence to excel.
When your child has a test coming up, stick with mastering the material that will be on the test. “First, look over the material just before bed the day of the test,” recommends Dr. Kajuth. “Don’t study any other material after you study the test material. Then look it over just before the test, or if this isn’t possible, the morning before.
Again, don’t study any other material after the morning review.” According to Dr. Kajuth, this technique is based on the “Interference Theory.”
“Interference Theory suggests other unrelated material that is studied between the material to be learned and then the test, may actually interfere with memory,” says Dr. Kajuth.
As a parent and teacher, Askew suggests parents can help reduce test anxiety by encouraging children to take their time while taking a test and just strive to do their best. “If parents and teachers use calmness about testing, it will help students,” says Askew. In addition, a pep talk before test day can help with your child’s jitters. Parents can teach their child how to refocus and relax before a test. For example, controlled breathing can be taught at home and used at school before taking the test. Some other tips to pass on are reminding your child not to spend too much time on any given question. If it’s a multiple choice test, read the answers and cross out ones that are wrong, and if you get stomped on a question, move on and return to it later.