Test anxiety is a serious problem, because it has a very negative effect on the performance of students who suffer from it. Approximately 9% of children present anxiety problems during study, so we are facing a frequent phenomenon.
This type of anxiety can appear at any educational level (primary school, secondary school, high school, vocational training, university or people who have to face an exam.
In addition, there are also other types of anxiety in the educational context:
- Fear of public speaking
- Anxiety when interacting with other people (classmates or teachers).
- Fear of integrating into a new educational institution.
Factors facilitating test anxiety
A number of factors have been identified that are directly related to anxiety:
- Failure on the part of the student at the academic level
- Low level of self-esteem
- Level of competitiveness
- The characteristics of the educational system
Consequences of anxiety in education
The main consequence that anxiety has at the academic level is the decrease of the person’s performance, because a high level of anxiety interferes negatively in the performance.
The importance of measuring test anxiety
There are two tools to measure this type of anxiety: ISRA (Inventory of Situations and Responses of Anxiety) and the TAI (Test Anxiety Inventory).
It is essential to measure this type of anxiety, because in this way we have an objective measure of how the person is before and after the psychological treatment. As a result, we can see how much the person has improved.
In this sense, in recent times, intervention programs for fear of exams have been developed. Cognitive-behavioral programs are very effective in reducing the person’s anxiety and increasing his or her performance in exams.
Once we have assessed the patient’s anxiety, explained what is happening to him/her, what is the relationship between anxiety and performance, and why the problem persists over time, we teach him/her the necessary tools to overcome the problem.
The time comes when we begin to teach you tools to help you overcome your problem.
One of them is relaxation through two techniques: breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training.
Another component is Meichenbaum’s Self-Instructional Training. Self-instructions are messages that we tell ourselves to help us, and that guide our behavior.
On the other hand, we have Systematic Desensitization, which is a technique that consists of exposing yourself to a situation that scares you little by little, and in a certain way.
Finally, there is the Problem Solving technique, which provides the person with a method to analyze the problem and evaluate different solutions.
Beneficial guidelines for the person to introduce into his or her lifestyle
These recommendations can be grouped into those for before, during and after the exam.
Before the exam:
- Engage in sports
- Dedicate the afternoon before the exam to review.
- Sleep a minimum of 8 hours
- Do not consume stimulating substances
- Prepare the necessary material the day before the exam.
- Do not review on the way to the exam
- Know the characteristics of the test
- Avoid talking about the exam to avoid getting nervous.
- Avoid sitting near colleagues who talk about the exam.
- Using breathing exercises and self-instructions.
During the exam:
- Attend to the teacher’s instructions and ask questions if we do not understand something.
- Distribute the time between questions, always leaving some time to review.
- Pay attention to the words, because they give us clues about what we are expected to do.
- Focus on the exam
- Employ breathing exercises and the self-instructions learned.
After the exam:
- Do not comment
- Always go to the reviews to learn about the mistakes made.
- Analyze the strategies used and factors involved in a failure or success.
Many people are afraid of exams because they do not have a correct study method. In this way, the techniques enunciated in this article are not enough for these people and they need to learn how to study.