Test AnxietyParent Presentation April 13, 2013
Dr. Virginia Nusca, Registered Psychologist
Overview What is test anxiety? Who gets test anxiety? Signs of test
anxiety Anxiety-reducing strategies Who can help your child Test
anxiety resources Perfectionism
What is Test Anxiety? A type of performance anxiety
Worried about performing well Worried about how will be judged by
others
Interferes with test performance A certain level of arousal
important to effective test
performance If arousal or anxiety is too high, it can impair the
ability
to effectively demonstrate knowledge
Who Gets Test Anxiety? Poorly prepared
Didn’t study Lacks knowledge or skills, e.g., test-taking skills,
content
knowledge History of poor test performance
Has failed in the past Has learning difficulties or disability that
affects test
performance Generally worried or anxious Perfectionist
Signs of Test Anxiety Physical Behavioural Cognitive
Physical Signs Nausea and/or vomiting Sleeping problems Muscle
tension Headaches Perspiration Rapid heart rate Flushed Shaking
Dizzy
Behavioural/Emotional Signs Motor
Restlessness, fidgety Mood
Irritable, crying Avoidance
Not studying Not attending on day of test Preference for easy,
familiar tasks
I’m going to fail.
I never do well on tests.
If I don’t get a good mark, I will fail the course.
Everyone will think I’m stupid.
I should never make mistakes in my schoolwork.
I’m good at math tests.
I know the content well.
Importance of Good Listening Listen to
Your child Yourself Other important people in your child’s
life
Identify thoughts that can lead to feelings of anxiety; e.g., ask
your child What are you thinking right now? What are you worried
will happen? What bad thing do you expect to happen?
Strategies to Reduce Test Anxiety Develop academic skills
Content knowledge Learning and study skills Test-taking
skills
Develop anxiety-reducing skills Strategies to address physical
symptoms Strategies to address cognitive symptoms Strategies to
reduce avoidance
Before the Test Preparation
Does your child have the skills and content needed to be successful
on the test?
Does your child have effective test-taking strategies?
Organization
Does your child devote the amount of time needed to prepare for the
test?
Practice Take practice tests
Practice answering assignment or made up questions just like a
test, e.g., no peaking at the answers, sitting for a period of
time.
The Importance of Practice Tests Helps develop and test skills and
knowledge needed to
be successful Can you recall the information from memory? Where do
you need to focus more study time?
Repeated test-taking practice reduces anxiety Student becomes
familiar with test demands Can practice test-taking strategies Can
practice anxiety reducing strategies Can experience success
Getting the Most Out of Practice Tests Best practice tests
Similar to actual test, e.g., same type of question, same content,
same location
Start simple One question to multiple questions Easy to challenging
questions
Where to get test questions Make them up From teacher From textbook
and/or study guides From previous assignments or tests
Reducing Anxiety Symptoms Physical Preparation
Relaxation strategies See Stress Lessons Toolkit for a
demonstration at
www.morethanmedication.ca/en/ Sleep Regular healthy routine
including exercise
Cognitive Preparation Identify and challenge negative thoughts
Identify and practice positive thoughts
After the Test Emphasize and praise strategy use
What strategies did you use? How did they work? How did that change
your experience of the test, e.g.,
less anxiety vs. more anxiety?
Help your child make a balanced evaluation of test performance NOT
it was overall a good or bad test performance Relate success on
specific questions to use of strategies
and effort Focus on what went right vs. what went wrong
After the Test (continued) Use test performance to determine goals
and next
steps for upcoming tests Make goals realistic and specific Put less
emphasis on grades and more emphasis on
improvements in strategy use, preparation, etc. Set
anxiety-reducing goals
Who Can Help Your Child? Parent/Guardian Older sibling; relative
Peers Tutor Teacher Guidance Counsellor School Psychological
Services Consultant
References AnxietyBC. Test Anxiety. www.anxietybc.com/test-
anxiety.php Educational Testing Services (ETS). (2005).
Reducing
Test Anxiety. Princeton, NJ: Available:
http://www.ets.org/Media/Tests/PRAXIS/pdf/ 01361anxiety.pdf
Huberty, T.J. (2009). Test and Performance Anxiety. In
Principal Leadership. National Association of School
Psychologists.
www.nasponline.org/resources/principals
Types of perfectionism Self-oriented perfectionism: standards for
yourself
that are unrealistically high and impossible to attain.
Other-oriented perfectionism: the tendency to demand that others
meet your unrealistically high standards.
Socially prescribed perfectionism: holding the assumption that
others hold impossible expectations of you.
Perfectionistic Behaviours Overcompensating: Overdoing something to
make absolutely
sure that everything is just right
Excessive checking & reassurance seeking: rechecking work, or
checking with others, to make certain that the task is done well
enough.
Repeating & correcting: Going overboard in correcting your own
or other’s behaviour to ensure that you are understood.
Excessive organizing & list making
Difficulty making decisions: making a mistake is feared because it
may be irreversible and “catastrophic”
Perfectionistic Behaviours Excessive slowness: doing things very
slowly in an
effort to prevent errors Procrastination: Perfectionists delay
starting
something to avoid the possibility that their work will be less
than perfect.
Not knowing when to quit: During exams too much time is spent on
difficult items because you are determined to “get it right”. You
run out of time to complete the task.
How to determine if your standards are too high
Are they higher than the majority of people? Can you meet them with
reasonable effort? Can others meet them?
Do your standards help you achieve your goals? Or do they get in
the way? What areas of your life are negatively affected by
perfectionism?
To what extent are your perfectionistic beliefs flexible or
inflexible?
What is the impact of your perfectionism on others? On your
emotional health? Instead of adding order and control to your life
they lead to anxiety, disorder and lack
of control. If you can’t be objective answering these questions you
may wish to ask others who know you well.
Helping your child Challenge perfectionistic standards and
demonstrate doing things less
than perfectly yourself Challenge negative and self-critical
thoughts. Do not model self-
criticalness yourself. Practice completing school work that is
“less than perfect”, limiting re-
doing, re-checking and reassurance seeking behaviours. Reinforce
and praise good effort versus praising high grades Reinforce
enjoying the process, rather than purely working towards the
finished product and outcome
References When Perfect Isn`t Good Enough (2009) Martin M.
Antony, Ph.D., Richard Swinson, MD
The Procrastination Workbook: Your Personalized Workbook for
Breaking Free of the Patterns That Hold You Back. (2002) Knauss,
W.
Online Anxiety Resources The ABC’s of Mental Health:
www.hincksdellcrest.org/ABC/Welcome
Information on typical development and mental health problems Teen
Mental Health: www.teenmentalhealth.org
Resources for teachers, families, students Animated video clips on
various anxiety disorders
Kids Health: http://kidshealth.org
Stress Lessons Toolkit: www.morethanmedication.ca/en/
Stress reduction activities for Grades 4 to 6 Parent guide Video of
relaxation and breathing exercises
Test Anxiety. www.anxietybc.com/test-anxiety.php Good strategies
for negative thoughts, preparation, test-taking skills, etc.
Educational Testing Services (ETS). Reducing test anxiety.
Princeton NJ:
Before the Test
Getting the Most Out of Practice Tests
Reducing Anxiety Symptoms
Challenging Negative Thoughts
After the Test
References
Helping your child