Ask HN: How to Deal with Test Anxiety?

[beck-thompson]

I am currently getting a degree in CS. I love math and CS and learning in general. However, whenever I take a test I completely crumple. For example, I will get 98% in the homework and then get a 60% on an exam. My mind completely shuts off and I will almost always just break down in tears near the end. This is not to mention the massive stress for days before!

Most of you have managed to get through this. How?

[james-revisoai]

I wrote a dissertation on Test Anxiety for a psychology masters. Here's the main factors that you can address: • Your foresight bias, especially given your performance in homework, is probably holding you back. Most top students drastically underestimate their exam performance, which leads to unnecessary anxiety. Remember your brains trick you this way, and calm your self each study session. Use small quizzes and keep track of top scores to remind yourself of your success and improvement. • Your brain actually works differently during exams. Do homework problems where you get to read the question for 20 seconds, and then have 3 minutes to put down your thoughts, and then come back the next day to answer it properly. This will train you for faster thinking, basically, and you'll also notice you have good intuition(given the grades you mentioned), which should calm you. • Eat well (milkshakes if nervous) and exercise in the days preceding the exam. Feel terror at the loss of time when everything is urgent? Do push ups or some other intensive form of exercise, even if you usually go running etc.

[jsnk]

I have been out of school for over 10 years, but still to this day, I get college exam related nightmares of all kinds. I can't say what I say will 100% cure your condition, but this is what helped me way back

Can you try to recreate the real test environment and take practice tests that way? Time limit, location, mood, no music or headphones etc. Treat your practice exam as if you are writing a real one and do this over and over again.

[t-3]

Change your approach to tests and grades in general. It's not an evaluation of you as a person, it's a game or competition to get the highest score.

Don't stress about or study for the test. Your studying should be to learn the material, your practice to master the techniques. Then, when the test comes, it's just like doing any other assignment.

[themodelplumber]

Sorry to hear about it. There are a lot of different ways to handle this. I recommend picking a couple of each of:

- A. Techniques focusing on the circumstances: It's not your fault. You have shared, objective evidence that shows that testing circumstances are a problem and that you know your stuff. So, for these techniques, you take an objective view and go to your profs and say "look, here's the situation, I need help, what can be done?" Keep an open mind, and see what they say. (Please don't stop with just one person--Ask a variety of profs, ask department leadership, ask around) I've seen some great examples where students were accommodated really well.

- B. Techniques focusing on you: Check for a resource lab that can help you out. For example, test-taking courses. These treat the test-taking process itself as a skill that can be mastered. You can even find these on Youtube. Some schools also offer self-hypnosis courses. These also exist online and there are test-taking scripts on Youtube. A lot of people will lecture you on these techniques but it's important to ask: Which ones seem like they would help?

If you can, I recommend putting most of your effort in group A. It's not a cheat, a weak path, or a shortcut, it's just getting help you deserve. People do this every day, and your school and department both probably have resources.

Also since your school works in levels / shells from you up through your department, feel free to ask your school's general counseling center as well. They have definitely been through this a thousand times with various students. They can often point you to objective resources and suggest methods.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is--there's probably some immense pressure to blame yourself. Instead, please help yourself in as many different ways as possible, without blaming yourself, if possible. Good luck & hang in there.

[WheelsAtLarge]

Talk to your professor. He/She might work with you by giving you other projects to help with your grade. It will reduce your stress by reducing the importance of any one test. Most of my professors valued learning over any test grade. They weren't willing to give easy A's but they also weren't willing to let a student fail if they saw that they were putting in the effort.

Also, many professors will create test questions inspired by the end of chapter problems in your text. Try reviewing them, specially the ones not assigned, before an exam. It might help reduce your test stress by not being caught off guard by a test question.

Being prepared is your best bet. Confidence will reduce any Anxiety.