How your test anxiety becomes your biggest friend

Test anxiety can be felt before, during, or after an exam. When it comes up, remember to practice compassion with yourself, focus on helpful strategies for success, and seek support when needed.

Before taking an exam, students experience exam anxiety for many reasons. Perfectionism leads some students to believe that their exam performance will not be good enough to meet their high standards. Other students are not sufficiently familiar with the examination material, which leads to a lack of confidence in their abilities. Some students may not have studied at all because their belief that they will never understand the subject matter well enough has led to procrastination.

There are many factors that can contribute to test anxiety, but bracing yourself with strategies can help you work through it. Preparation, organization, and practice can build self-confidence by helping you focus on what you can control, rather than the “unknowns” that your exam entails.

Here are a few strategies for dealing with anxiety ahead of an exam:

Add exam dates to your calendar.

Add exam dates to your calendar at the start of the semester. This step allows you to see which reviews are pending and to prepare yourself specifically for them.

Start studying early to address anxiety.

When an exam is still a long way off, studying triggers less anxiety because the pressure of learning doesn't seem as intense or immediate. Just knowing that you started studying early can go a long way toward alleviating exam anxiety.
Check out the ARC Memory and Attention page for some memory building tips; practicing some of these memory strategies can help you feel more confident in the effectiveness of your learning.

Take practice tests regularly.

Take practice tests regularly to check your comprehension. Seek support when you encounter concepts that confuse you, and keep your studies focused on the areas that are most challenging for you.

Make use of the office hours of your lecturers and tutors

The teaching staff is there for you — to answer questions and help you understand the subject matter better.

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During an exam, it's natural to feel the effects of increased adrenaline as you try to do your job. Negative thoughts could circulate, your mind could empty, or you could be afraid that you might run out of time. To mitigate the effects of these events, come prepared with some strategies that you can implement right now.

Here are a few strategies for dealing with anxiety during an exam:

Visualize a successful outcome.

If you're struggling with a particular problem or your mind goes blank, it can be easy to imagine that the entire exam is going to be a disaster. If such negative thoughts overwhelm you, close your eyes, take a deep breath and try to imagine yourself seeing your grade at the end and being happy with the result. Give your brain a chance to reset. Then return to your exam, but not immediately to the place that made you anxious. Instead, try starting a new problem or look at a task that you've successfully answered.

Think of the test as a game.

You may be more successful if you reinterpret your anxiety instead of trying to eliminate it. Think of your test as a game! Anxiety and excitement are two sides of the same coin: They both involve high levels of adrenaline. Come up with a “prize” to give yourself when you finish the game so that your focus is on winning the prize and not on the grade you'll receive for the test.

Practice mindful breathing.

One way to combat anxiety during an exam is to practice mindful breathing, which is the opposite of shallow breathing, which is associated with anxiety and increases distress. Close your eyes, breathe in and out deeply through your nose, and focus on the feeling of air flowing through your nasal passages and lungs. Do this slowly a few times and always draw your attention back to your breath when it starts trying to travel to the source of your anxiety. After a few breaths, you'll likely be able to move on with your exam. Reconnect with your breath as often as necessary (and as time allows).

Recite a positive academic affirmation in your head.

Many exam anxiety comes from negative self-talk: from saying that you're not good enough or smart enough to succeed. When this happens, have a few affirmations in mind that you can say to yourself: “I'm prepared for this exam,” or “I know the stuff,” or “It's just an exam.”

After an exam, it is not uncommon for students to remain uncertain about their grade, feel remorse about a lack of preparation, or complain about a mistake.
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Here are a few ways to deal with anxiety after an exam:

Identify what's in your control.

You can't go back in time and change how you've prepared for this exam, but you can change what you're going to do for future exams. If you were dissatisfied with your preparation for the last exam, find out what caused your dissatisfaction. (Did you miss meeting with a tutor? Did you cram the night before? Did you skip some of the readings?) Now develop a plan to address these causes before the next audit.

Look at exams differently.

An audit is just a reflection of your understanding of a particular set of information at a specific point in time; it is not a permanent measure of your worth or intelligence. Instead of using your exam performance as a definition for yourself, look at your tests for what they are: opportunities to learn not only about the subject matter, but also how to prepare for assessments more successfully in the future!

Seek additional feedback.

Grades are a type of feedback: They tell you how well you understand the subject matter based on what the course requires of you. It can be hard to get over a grade you're dissatisfied with if you don't understand exactly what you did wrong. Although you can't change the grade you received (unless the instructor clearly made a mistake when evaluating your work), you can get more feedback about it. Go to office hours and ask questions about what you've missed. Go with an open mind — imagine how the answers could help you do better in a future review. Sometimes you might get information that helps you feel better about your performance (for example, most of the course may have missed the question you're seeking feedback on). Regardless, if you understand your grade better, you'll increase your chances of getting a higher one next time.