Test anxiety is defined as anxiety that's experienced before, during and after an examination or other test situations. It often worsens performance in the testing situation due to memory loss and a lack of concentration. Reports have shown that up to a third of students struggle with these anxiety symptoms, and nine types have been identified.
Some common stressful thoughts are the fear of:
Blacking out
Not being able to find an answer to a question
The examiners, seeing them fail
Poor performances
Having to repeat the exam
Time pressures
Feeling sick, dry mouth or sweating
Feeling one of these intense fears can be overwhelming, especially when many students experience a combination of symptoms.
Test anxiety typically starts during GCSEs, where boys from ethnic minority groups, boys of a lower socioeconomic status and boys with special educational needs are more vulnerable to test anxiety. The number of people speaking up about test anxiety is increasing, and the Office that regulates Exam and Qualification regulations have spoken about how concerning this anxiety is. Teachers of GCSE students have also talked about not having adequate training to help support children struggling with test anxiety, and they don’t know how to identify them.
People often think the most important sign to look out for is a fixed event of anxiety before exams. Still, there are four stages to look out for: the anticipatory stage, the confrontation phase, the anticipation phase and the outcome stage. These are all psychological responses to the anxiety about testing situations, such as the lead-up to exams, actually doing them, waiting for results and receiving them. It’s essential to be able to look out for your children, students or friends during these stressful times, and also yourself, as, unfortunately, there can be long-term effects of test anxiety.
Trigger warning - if you struggle with test anxiety, this paragraph may not be for you. Please take care of yourself and skip to the next section: coping strategies.
All over the world, children have struggled long-term with the effects of test anxiety, and the consequences of this stress are detrimental. In India, over 2300 children have ended their lives because of failure in exams, and research has shown that males expressed higher levels of test stress and anxiety than females. We want to do everything we can to reduce this number, and we are presenting this information to help anyone reading this see just how important it is to check on the people around you.
Coping Strategies:
As more awareness and research are being spread to males with anxiety, there are promising results that highlight what works best for males in these testing contexts. Although males show higher stress levels than females before exams, they have also been shown to cope better and, therefore, have a lower heart rate and stress levels after the exam. The most effective ways of dealing with test anxiety for students are best for males and females, depending on the type of anxiety you have.
If you are feeling intense emotions generally and are just typically overwhelmed emotionally with test anxiety, seeking social support for males was shown to be most effective.
If you feel worried about your exams or upcoming tests, many people find it most effective to prepare and plan everything you can, including revision timetables, exam timetables, etc.
If you are generally struggling overall with test anxiety, here are five ways to help ease your anxiety
One of the best ways to prepare for exams is to make a revision timetable that helps you plan your days out, leave time for revising, and give yourself breaks when needed. Always schedule a time to chill or time with friends, as it’ll help you concentrate and feel less anxious when revising.
No all-nighters! No matter how little you may have prepared or how anxious you feel, staying up all night to cram won’t help you memorise anything. Being tired on the day of a testing situation means your ability to memorise and recall materials during your test will be significantly reduced. One rule we have used personally when revising is that if you haven’t learned it by 10 pm the night before, you won’t be able to cram it afterwards, so you might as well get a good night’s sleep. It’ll help you remember what you’ve worked so hard to revise!
Ask for extra support if you are struggling at school. If you often feel like you’re going to be sick or pass out from anxiety in a test situation, your teachers or examiners may be able to give you a separate room or read out any questions to help you focus and reduce anxiety. Ask your school, college or university for more information.
As cliché and hard to imagine as it may be, your tests or exams do not define you or even how much you know. We remember when people said that to us during our exams, and we may not have believed them then, but it’s true. Even if you need a particular grade to get into universities, colleges, or jobs, you can always retake and ask for extra support in Tip 3 so that it’s easier for you when you retake. You don’t have to put that you have retaken anything on your CV or applications, so remember there are always more chances, and that may reduce some anxiety.
On the day of the exam or test, get to the place where you are taking the exam nice and early to give you time to adjust and prepare, and don’t drink any caffeine. It is well known that caffeine increases your heart rate, and that will make you feel anxiety symptoms, even if you’re fully prepared.
If test anxiety still feels like it’s too much, please seek professional support. You can use our signposting links to access help at any point. Remember, we are in your corner.
References:
Loveless, B. (2024, January 1). Coping With Test Anxiety. Education Corner. https://www.educationcorner.com/test-anxiety/
Stöber, J. (2004). Dimensions of test anxiety: Relations to ways of coping with pre-exam anxiety and uncertainty. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 17(3), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800412331292615
Rajendran, V. G., Jayalalitha, S., & Adalarasu, K. (2021). EEG-based evaluation of examination stress and test anxiety among college students. IRBM, 43(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irbm.2021.06.011
Bird, A. (2023). GCSEs and test anxiety: Exploring secondary teachers’ perspectives. Bera.ac.uk. https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/gcses-and-test-anxiety-exploring-secondary-teachers-perspectives
Brown, K., Woods, K., & Nuttall, C. (2022). “I’m going to feel stressed, but now I know how to handle it”: reducing test anxiety and improving student well‐being at GCSE. Support for Learning, 37(2), 351–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12412
Klug, K., Tolgou, T., Schilbach, M., & Rohrmann, S. (2019). Intrusions in test anxiety. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-0167-x
Roos, A.-L., Goetz, T., Voracek, M., Krannich, M., Bieg, M., Jarrell, A., & Pekrun, R. (2020). Test Anxiety and Physiological Arousal: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 33(2), 579–618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09543-z
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