Tips to Reduce Anxiety About Tests

1. Tips to Reduce Anxiety About Tests

2. A little nervousness before a test can be good. It motivates us to work hard and put forth our best effort. However, when we become too anxious it can undermine our confidence and interfere with our ability to solve problems. Some tips to reduce test anxiety are:

3. 1) TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!! • Eat healthy before a test!

4. Get plenty of sleep!!!

5. EXERCISE – to reduce body tension

6. Remember: • A student who gets a full night’s sleep, goes for a jog, and eats a balanced breakfast before the test will improve the odds of doing his or her best on the test!

7. 2) Take practice exams • Take advantage of practice tests and questions that we work on in class. People are less likely to be anxious when doing something that is familiar.

8. 3) Come prepared! • Arrive on time! • Bring all materials! EX: pencil & good eraser, fiction book • NO ABSENCES!!!

9. 4) Make an effort to relax periodically during the test • When you feel yourself becoming tense or nervous, take a relaxation break. • Some simple relaxation ideas are:

10. Relax! • Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly after each one. • Tense your muscles and hold for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat 3 times.

11. Relax! • Think of a peaceful, quiet setting (ex: the beach). Imagine yourself calm and relaxed in that setting. *TAKE A BRIEF “BRAIN” VACATION!!

12. 5) Engage in Positive Self-Talk • Adopt an upbeat, but realistic attitude: “I prepared carefully for this test. If I do my best, I have a good chance of passing it.” • Avoid negative talk – BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!

13. Effective Test-Taking Strategies

14. 1) Listen Carefully to Directions • Make a point to listen closely to any test directions that are read aloud. • READ THROUGH DIRECTIONS AT LEAST TWICE (2X) BEFORE STARTING. • Ask the teacher to clear up any confusion.

15. 2) Multiple Choice -Don’t look for patterns -Don’t RUSH: Read each possible answer carefully – some choices appear correct at first glance, but turn out to be wrong when you take a closer look.

16. 3) Essay Questions • Underline key terms (compare, contrast, discuss, summarize) • Outline your answer before your write it = BRAINSTORM!! • Write NEATLY and BIG!! • Stay on topic! • Plan, Plan, Plan 

17. 4) When in doubt…GUESS! • Make an educated guess! • P.O.E. = Process of Elimination • Don’t leave anything blank on writing sections, even if you aren’t sure – GUESS!

18. 5) Skip difficult items until last • Don’t get bogged down on a difficult question – skip it and go on to other problems • After you have completed easier items, go back to the hard ones • Remember: LEAP isn’t timed! You have all the time you need!

19. 6) Use leftover time to check answers • Use remaining time to check your answers

20. For multiple choice questions • Check to see that you answered all questions and bubbled in the correct circle

21. For essay questions • Reread each written response to make sure it makes sense, uses correct grammar, & answers the question completely!

22. Always double check if you have extra time. Even the world’s smartest people make careless errors!!

23. GOOD LUCK!!! Remember: You CAN do it!! 