How to Overcome Test Anxiety

Being a little nervous before taking a test is a normal feeling for most people. In fact, research has reported that test anxiety affects 20%–40% of students in the US¹.

However, if you suffer from testing anxiety, you know that it isn’t limited to just feeling nervous the day before your exam. It can escalate to extreme worry and self-doubt, and it can affect how well you perform on the test².

Thankfully, there are many ways to manage test anxiety. We’ve compiled practical test anxiety tips and strategies to help you calm your nerves and feel more prepared on test day.

What Is Test Anxiety?

 
As mentioned earlier, test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety that occurs before or during a test. This anxiety can stem from a fear of failure, lack of preparation, or previous bad experiences with exams. Test anxiety symptoms may include sweating, rapid heartbeat, and headaches, as well as difficulty concentrating on the test³.

Test Anxiety Causes

Anxiety is a reaction to something that is stressful. It can be anything from a meeting or an interview to a school activity or an important test. Any type of anxiety, including test anxiety, affects both your body and mind⁴.

Fear of Failure

Taking an important test can put a lot of pressure on you. You’re pressured to make sure that you do well on the test, which sometimes can be motivating, but you’re also worried that failing the test can hurt your character, or the failing grade will show your true value⁴.

Lack of Preparation

You may feel like you’re properly prepared and that you’ll do well, so you’ll put off studying for the exam until the last minute. Or you may not study at all. Either way, this could cause test anxiety on the day of the exam⁴.

High Pressure

Knowing that you need to achieve a certain score to pass a class or even get a job can cause pressure, which may contribute to test anxiety⁴.

Poor Test History

Not doing well on a past test can make you anxious during the next test you will need to take. It’s best that you stay focused on the test that you’re taking rather than thinking about how you did not do well on past tests⁴.

Biological Causes of Test Anxiety

When you’re in a stressful situation, your body releases a hormone called adrenaline. This hormone is what prepares your body to deal with stressful situations and is known as a “fight-or-flight” response. This response helps you determine whether you are going to stay and deal with the stress at hand or if you’re going to leave the situation⁵.

When the fight-or-flight response kicks in, you may have difficulty focusing or concentrating on the test. You may even experience sweating, shaky hands, or nausea⁵.

Mental Causes of Test Anxiety

On top of biological causes of test anxiety, there are also mental causes. One factor is high expectations. For example, if a student believes going in that they will do badly on a test, then they will more than likely start to have anxiety before and during the test.

Another mental cause of test anxiety is previously having test anxiety. After you’ve experienced test anxiety, you may start to become fearful about it happening again the next time you take an important test⁴.

Test Anxiety Symptoms

There are many test anxiety symptoms that may appear before, during, and/or after you take your exam. Not everyone reacts the same way, but these are some of the most common test anxiety symptoms^3,6:

Behavioral Symptoms

• Procrastination in studying
• Disorganized or inefficient study habits

Cognitive Symptoms

• Difficulty concentrating
• Negative thinking
• Comparing yourself to others
• Racing thoughts
• Blanking out
• Overthinking

Emotional Symptoms

• Anger
• Fear
• Guilt
• Feeling helpless
• Shame
• Disappointment

Physical Symptoms

• Nausea
• Racing heart
• Excessive sweating
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Tense muscles

Social Symptoms

• Isolation from peers or study groups
• Reluctance to ask for help
• Difficulty communicating with instructors regarding concerns about the test

When to Seek Help for Test Anxiety

Some nervousness before a test is normal, but test anxiety may need extra support if it starts to interfere with your normal life.

In other words, if it regularly keeps you from studying, causes you to avoid exams, interferes with schoolwork, or leads to intense fear or panic symptoms, it’s time to consider reaching out to a school counselor, therapist, doctor, or another qualified mental health professional¹⁰.

Professional support can help you work through the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make test anxiety worse. A counselor or mental health professional may also be able to help you build test-taking strategies, organization skills, and coping techniques for exam day².

If your anxiety is connected to a diagnosed disability or another condition that affects test-taking, it’s important that you ask your school, testing program, or disability services office about accommodations as early as possible. Depending on your situation, testing accommodations may include extra time, a quieter testing room, breaks, or other approved supports¹¹.

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This check-in is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional mental-health advice. It is meant to help you choose test-anxiety strategies to try first. If anxiety is interfering with schoolwork, daily life, or your ability to take exams, consider talking with a school counselor, therapist, doctor, or another qualified mental-health professional.

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Test Anxiety Tips

Learning how to manage test anxiety can be a challenge, but it is an essential step to creating a better test-taking experience. To help you out, we’ve compiled the top 15 test anxiety tips to help you manage your anxiety.

1. Start preparing early.
It’s important that you start preparing early for your test rather than waiting until the last minute and cramming information. Start studying a week or two before the test, and study in smaller blocks each day².

2. Create a study plan.
Having a study plan is important for success on a test. A study plan will allow you to create blocks of time to study each day, as well as lay out exactly what you’re going to study. Create a study plan from the day you start studying and follow through until the day before the test².

3. Learn how to study
While you may feel like you have this down, you can always get more tips on how to effectively study. Your school may offer study skill classes or other resources that can help you learn effective study skills so that you can feel confident and prepared for your test².

4. Keep a positive attitude.
Keep in mind that your self-worth does not rely on the outcome of a test. Keep a positive attitude and remind yourself that you can do well on the test. Replacing negative thoughts with more realistic and constructive thoughts can help reduce anxious self-talk⁶.

5. Read carefully.
This is important with every test, whether you have test anxiety or not. Make sure to read the instructions carefully before you begin the test and read each and every question and answer before choosing an answer. If you don’t read everything carefully, you could miss out on an important detail that can help you choose the correct answer⁶.

6. Make practice tests your best friend.
Practice tests are a great way to make sure that you’re prepared completely for your test. You’ll be able to get a firsthand look at what the exam will be like, including how many questions will be on the exam and what type of questions you can expect. You’ll also get more of an idea as to which areas you may need more work on. Practice testing is also supported as a high-utility learning technique⁷.

7. Get a good night’s sleep.
The night before the exam, make sure that you get a good night’s sleep. Aim for enough sleep for your age; the CDC recommends 8–10 hours for teens and at least 7 hours for most adults. Getting enough sleep can help improve attention and memory, as well as help you feel more prepared the next day⁸.

8. Start with what you know.
When you sit down for the test, you don’t have to start with the first question. Start with the ones that you know. Don’t waste your time trying to figure out that one question that has you stumped. Skip over it and move on to the next one that you know. If time allows, go back to the questions you skipped and try to answer them⁶.

9. Use flashcards.
Flashcards are another great resource when you’re preparing for a test. They allow you to study the material in smaller chunks rather than a long list of concepts. You’re able to focus on one concept at a time, such as vocabulary words or specific facts that you know you’ll need for the test. When used actively, flashcards can function as practice testing and retrieval practice⁷.

10. On test day, get to the test site early.
One thing that you don’t want to do is rush because you’re running late. Rushing because you’re late to the exam will only cause you to have more anxiety when you take the test. Get to the test site a little early. A consistent pretest routine can help test day feel more predictable².

11. Don’t forget to eat and drink.
Your brain and body need fuel to function and work properly. Make sure that you eat a healthy meal and drink plenty of water leading up to the test day and on the test day. Try to limit sugary drinks and caffeinated drinks such as coffee, especially if they make you feel jittery. Too much caffeine can cause anxiety, jitters, increased heart rate, and sleep problems in some people⁹.

12. Stay focused.
On test day, try to stay focused on the test only. Don’t worry about what you’re doing after the exam or what happened before, and don’t worry about how the other test-takers are doing. Concentrate solely on your test⁶.

13. Dress comfortably.
Dress appropriately, but wear something that makes you comfortable and that allows you to relax. Stay away from clothes that you will need to adjust constantly or that are too tight for you. Be sure to take a light jacket or sweater in case the test room is cold for you.

14. Take a break if needed.
If you feel that your test anxiety is getting to be a little too much, take a quick break. Close your eyes, take ten slow, deep breaths to calm yourself, and get back to concentrating on the exam. Deep breathing is a common relaxation technique that may help with stress and anxiety¹².

15. Avoid distractions.
Don’t worry about the person next to you or in front of you who may be going through their test twice as fast. Sit somewhere where you can be free of distractions, perhaps in the front of the room if possible, and focus on your test⁶.

Beat Anxiety by Becoming a Study Pro

Struggling with test anxiety? Our Study Secrets course teaches study techniques that can help you build stronger exam-prep habits and manage test-day stress. You’ll upgrade your study skills with easy-to-follow lessons and videos covering essential topics:

• Manage Test Anxiety
• Techniques to Manage Procrastination
• Steps to Building a Study Plan
• 7 Effective Note-Taking Methods
• Test-Taking Tips
• Memory Techniques and Mnemonics
• And much more!

Anxiety tells you, “You can’t do this!”

Be prepared to tell your anxiety, “I’ve GOT this.”

FAQs

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Sources

1. PMC, “The Association Between Test Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Images Among University Students”
2. Mayo Clinic, “Test anxiety: Can it be treated?”
3. University Health Services, UW–Madison, “Test Anxiety”
4. UAMS Student Success Center, “Causes of Test Anxiety”
5. Harvard Health Publishing, “Understanding the Stress Response”
6. UT Dallas Student Counseling Center, “Test Anxiety”
7. Dunlosky et al., “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest
8. CDC, “About Sleep”
9. FDA, “Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?”
10. National Institute of Mental Health, “Anxiety Disorders”
11. ADA.gov, “ADA Requirements: Testing Accommodations”
12. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know”

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