Reducing Test Anxiety

Do not let test anxiety affect your gpa. You are prepared for the test; you know your material but your freeze, go blank or simply lose it during the test. This is called test anxiety. The following eight tips will help you reduce your test anxiety and receive the grade you have earned.

1. Get a good night sleep. Staying up all night cramming will increase your test anxiety and deprive your brain of much needed sleep. Try to keep your normal routine and sleep patterns as much as possible the day before the test.

2. If you are going to a testing center to take your test arrive early, take a look around get comfortable with your surroundings. Say to your self, "This is where I will be taking my test". Know where you need to be for the test. Nothing, except failing to study, will increase test anxiety like getting lost on the way to the test. If you like to sit in a certain area, arrive early so that you can claim your desired seat.

3.  Avoid negative people and speculation. Listing to and engaging in idle talk about the test will only increase your test anxiety. Your time would be better spent talking a short walk or looking over a few concise key terms. The last thing you need to hear is someone telling you how the test is or what kind of questions are on it when that person has not even seen the test. The other thing that happens is people compare notes at the last minute, then start second guessing themselves. This will only increase your anxiety about the test.

4. Eat a normal meal. This is not the time to try the new exotic restaurant on the way to school. Also, it is best to avoid too much caffeine. You want to be focused on your test, not your hunger or your bladder. If you are too full, your brain will be deprived of the blood flow it needs to perform its best.

5. Take a deep breath and relax. Close your eyes for a minute and say to yourself, "I am prepared and will ace this exam". Positive thinking will greatly reduce any test anxiety. If during the test you feel like you are "stressing out", stop take a deep breath and start again.

6. Slow down. When people suffer from test anxiety their mind is racing a mile a minute. Make sure you read all the directions. If your mind was racing while you read the question, stop and reread it. Double check your answer sheets and make sure you are transcribing your answers correctly.

7. Preview all the questions on the exam and budget your time. Answer the easy ones first. Having a few right answers out the gate will reduce your test anxiety. This will also prevent you from spending so much time on the harder questions that you need to rush through them or worst case scenerio not even get to them.

8. Do a brain dump. Write down any formulas, dates, names, definitions, and acronyms on the top of your paper as soon as you receive it. It is easy to remember the basic facts before you start answering questions. Knowing that some of the answers are there for you to read will further reduce your anxiety.

Following these simple steps will reduce your test anxiety and improve your performance the day of the test.

Test taking tipsThis page has three section relating to tests: Related Pages has information on specific tests and help on getting your best grade. The second section is "Tips for Taking Standardized Tests". Finally a test taking skills course.

TIPS ON TEST TAKING--North Carolina State University

Guides to improve your test taking

Learn how to prepare for any test

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