How To Help If Your Child Is Suffering From Exam Anxiety

Exams and tests are a normal part of educational growth. They identify the knowledge and skills students have retained from the lessons taught throughout the year. The issue with tests is that not everyone is comfortable during test time. This can often skew how well a student shows their knowledge of the curriculum.

Some children may consider themselves "bad testers", but they could simply have test anxiety. So what is test anxiety, exactly, and how can you help your child through it? Here’s how to help if your child is suffering from exam anxiety.

What is exam anxiety?
Exams and tests often bring on a sense of nervousness. In typical cases, normal nervousness prior to a test can sometimes help a student excel. However, when the exam causes distress to the point where their performance suffers, it falls under the category of exam anxiety. Exam anxiety is akin to performance anxiety and is considered a psychological condition.

Students that suffer from test anxiety can be great students who pay attention and take notes in class, read all the required readings, and even attend extra study sessions. However, all that isn't a match for the anxiety that rules them during exam time. Because it isn't something that they can control, coping with test anxiety can be frustrating and disappointing.

What are the symptoms of exam anxiety?
There are several symptoms associated with test anxiety. They can vary in severity from mild to debilitating. How each student experiences test anxiety will be completely unique to them. Some of the physical symptoms of test anxiety can occur during the test and include:

• Sweating
• Shaking
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dry mouth
• Fainting
• Nausea
• Panic Attacks
• Butterflies in the stomach
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Not every child with exam anxiety will experience all the physical symptoms at once. However, depending on their personal experience with this psychological condition, they may.

Other signs and symptoms of exam anxiety have to do with cognition and behavior. For example, a student with severe test anxiety may skip class on test day because they cannot cope. In the worst of cases, a student may drop out of school altogether.

Other cognitive and behavioral symptoms include:

• Memory issues
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Negative self-talk surrounding their intellectual capabilities
• Using drugs or alcohol

A student may also deal with some emotional symptoms that can include:

• Depression
• Low self-esteem
• Feelings of anger and hopelessness

All these symptoms combined lead to a near-impossible test-taking experience.

How to reduce stress and anxiety during exams
The severity of a student’s test anxiety will determine the strategies that will work for them. Some students may need to take anti-anxiety medications to cope with exam stress. Others may need to attend therapy sessions. While that will help long-term, it may not help on the day of the exam or even in the weeks leading up to it. Students will have to learn different methods they can use both in the lead-up to and on test day.

Strategies they can use leading up to the test include:

• Avoid perfectionism: Students with text anxiety are often extremely worried that they will fail. If they accept that their best is good enough, regardless of what that may be, they may be able to reduce their test anxiety.
• Practice positive self-talk: There is a lot of negative self-talk associated with test anxiety. Students can flip the script by replacing their negative thoughts with positive ones. Instead of saying that they won't succeed, they should tell themselves that they will.
• Get good quality sleep: Good-quality sleep is important for memory and concentration.
• Prepare: Studying can be difficult if your child dreads test day, but it is one of the best ways to prepare. Even if the anxiety creeps in, at least your child will know that they've studied hard. Somewhere in their brain, they have all the answers.

During the test, the options for stress and anxiety reduction are more limited. However, that doesn't mean that a student has to just sit through it! Some techniques they can use while taking a test include:

• Deep breathing: Deep breathing exercises can help lower anxiety levels. Deep breaths should be done in through the nose and out through the mouth.
• Focus on one question at a time: A test with 50 questions is overwhelming. Focusing on one question at a time will help your child home in on the problem in front of them. This one-step-at-a-time method may take away some anxiety.
• Bring an anxiety-reducing toy: Tell your child to bring a stress ball into the test with them. When they are starting to feel overwhelmed, they can take a break to squeeze the stress ball. This will help them re-center and re-focus.

How can parents help students with test anxiety?
It's important to make sure your child knows the results of their test are not the be-all and end-all. Students with test anxiety often get labeled as poor students when in reality, they are simply unable to take tests without feeling excessive levels of stress. To help your child with test anxiety you can:

• Help them prepare for tests using flashcards and other study aids as much as they need or want to
• Find and teach them stress reduction techniques they can use during the test, such as specific types of breathing exercises
• Make a plan for the test if their anxiety gets the best of them. This can include skipping questions if they need to, taking a five-minute break during the test, or squeezing their stress ball while they think of answers

What to say to your child before a test
Parents can use words of encouragement to help their children get through test anxiety. Before the test, try saying things like:

• You’ve got this!
• You're going to do great
• Do your best and it will always be good enough
• One test doesn't determine how smart or wonderful you are

Try to focus on positive aspects of your child that don't revolve around their education. This will give them a bit of a confidence boost that they can take into the test with them. Sometimes, writing a letter with words of encouragement can be helpful. They can pull out the letter when they're feeling overwhelmed on test day.

Coping with test anxiety isn't easy. The good news is that there are things you can do for your child to make getting through a test much easier.

 

Featured image by Tony Tran on Unsplash