Test Anxiety

You’ve attended class, participated in class discussions, completed all of your homework, studied hard and smart, and think you understand the material. But then, the exam day arrives. Suddenly, your mind goes blank, you freeze up, or feel so nervous that you can’t concentrate and focus clearly to respond to the questions on the exam.

If this sounds like you, you may have a case of test anxiety... that nervous feeling that people sometimes get when they are about to take an exam.

It can be quite normal to feel a little nervous and stressed out before, during and/or after an exam. Many people experience test anxiety. And, a touch of nervous anticipation can actually help you perform well on an exam. But for some people, this anxious feeling is more intense and impairs concentration and performance.

So, what exactly is test anxiety? Test anxiety is actually a form of performance anxiety. It’s an intense nervous feeling that a person may have in a situation where performance really counts or where there is pressure to do well. Test anxiety can affect people in different ways. It can affect a person’s thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors.

If you think you experience test anxiety, completing the following checklist is a place to start.

Portions of the above were adapted from http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/test_anxiety.html