By Mariama Bah
Test anxiety is when students are too nervous to recall learning materials during an exam. A student not studying for an exam and feeling nervous is totally different from having test anxiety. Test anxiety can be caused by many factors such as past experiences, lack of confidence, and feelings of failure or nervousness about performing lower than other students. Mental stress can sometimes cause test anxiety.Test anxiety is often a long term problem that can start at a very young age or in college. Test anxiety may be beneficial because it helps enhance motivation and often improve performance.
Negative feeling: “I will never pass this exam.”
Personal myths: “I’m not the brain in the family.”
Pressure: “I have to get a 100 on the exam.”
Test anxiety may also affect students who do not speak English well. These students not only have to worry about remembering test materials, but they also have to worry about making sure they understand what the questions are asking.
For a lot of high school students, stakes are high when they are taking their last required regents exam in order to receive a high school diploma. For example, at MCSM, the last exam required in the social studies curriculum is the U.S History regents. Every senior must take and pass these regents in January. A lot of students worry because their graduation depends on that one, last, exam.
3 Tips on How to OvercomeTest Anxiety
1) Change your mindset: when you find yourself having negative thoughts. Tell yourself to think positively. Remind yourself that you’ve studied a lot and be your own cheerleader.
2) Personal Myths and Beliefs: if you have younger or older siblings who get all A’s, that doesn’t mean you have to pressure yourself into getting all A’s. Knowing you have competition is when you get up and work very hard to prove to everyone around you and to yourself that you are capable.
3) Visualize success: Picture yourself successfully taking the exam and getting every single question right and later receiving an “A”
Good luck to everyone taking the exam, and just remember the three tips and I promise you, you will not only pass, you will get the score you’re aiming for.