Test Anxiety Success Strategies

It’s normal to feel anxiety on test days but having poor time management skills may cause significant anxiety due to a lack of preparedness. Stress often motives students to study hard, but excessive stress can affect performance. Utilize these strategies to alleviate test-taking anxiety:

• Participate in deep breathing exercises before taking the test. Continue doing this if you experience extreme anxiety while taking the test. Deep breathing is an excellent strategy to calm nerves.
• Take some time to stretch prior to sitting down for the test to relieve tension. If permitted or granted a break, stretch your limbs again while taking the test.
• It’s ineffective to evaluate test preparation during the test. If you don’t perform up to expectations, assess performance and make changes after the test.
• Don’t overreact to a poor test score. Move on since you’ll have opportunities later in the semester to make up for a bad score.
• Meet with the teacher or an academic counselor if test-taking anxiety is affecting performance. Counselors can teach you strategies for overcoming anxiety. Some teachers grant students who struggle with extreme anxiety additional time to finish a test.
• Do not compare yourself to peers, and don’t get distracted by students who finish early. Devote all your attention to focusing on the test. The best way to decrease test-taking anxiety is to study hard for the test. You must make time to study. There is no easy route to success. Even if you’re prepared, it’s still normal to feel nervous. Utilize the aforementioned tips, and you’ll be fine.