Test Anxiety The Silent Intruder Resources; St. Gerard Majella Catholic School, March 6, 2010 William B. Daigle, Ph.D. 8748 Quarters Lake Road Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (225) 922-7767 225) 922-7768 fax williambdaiglephd@hotmail.com I. What is Anxiety? a. Anxiety is a psychological/emotional energy that leads us to sense that something is not right or that we are not in control. It is a general uneasiness within our body system which is often accompanied by various worried thoughts. The actual definition according to www.dictionary.com is distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune. b. I think about anxiety as a ball of energy inside of us that moves around as it wishes. Some people have anxiety balls the size of bowling balls while others are the size if a dime. The people with high levels of anxiety energy tend to be very sensitive to changes in their environment it s like having very sensitive radar they can detect danger that is miles away. The people with very low levels of anxiety energy tend to be unfeeling and not easily rattled. Interestingly, a majority of the people who end up in prison have very low levels of anxiety, which is one reason that they do not develop appropriate boundaries in their behavior. So it is good to have some anxiety. c. Inverted curve i. Low levels of anxiety often results in low performance (due to not caring enough about it to be conscientious). ii. Moderate levels of anxiety often results in high performance (because the anxiety elevates our alertness and promotes focus and productivity). iii. High levels of anxiety results in poor performance (because it overwhelms our system and causes us to be less efficient, focused and accurate). So, some anxiety is good for us, too much or too little are not. d. Anxiety develops easily in people who have sensitive systems. Common manifestations of anxiety in sensitive children are worries or physical complaints, such as any of the following: 1
i. Someone breaking into house ii. Something bad happening to parent iii. Parent will forget to pick them up from school iv. Bad weather v. Fire vi. Failing in school vii. Stomach aches often a pattern of early morning stomach aches only on school days. viii. Headaches less common than stomach aches, but quite frequent. e. Anxiety caused by temperament vs. anxiety caused by life experiences. i. Many children with anxiety were born with that temperament, and usually the apple did not fall far from the tree. Easily traced to a parent or relative. ii. Other children have life experiences that CREATE anxiety in their systems. Car accidents, home burglaries, death of close relative, hurricane trauma, etc. For these children, anxiety becomes a response to a traumatic or an anxietyprovoking event. Learning Disabilities can be the type of events that create anxiety in some children. In fact, if you have a diagnosis of a learning disability, there is a 50% chance that you also have another disorder, such as ADHD or anxiety. It is very common for children with learning disabilities to have anxiety as well. However, we often focus so much on the processing issue that we forget the emotional issue. II. How to Spot Anxiety in Children a. Some children are obvious with their anxiety - they bring it to you. b. Some people show their anxiety but it doesn t fit with their personalities. Consider a child who loves to dance and sing in front of others, but won t answer questions in front of the class. c. Some children are silent with their anxiety you would never know it is there. For example, consider a young boy in the 5 th grade who on the outside is rough and tough. He plays sports, is aggressive, and has many friends. However, he sleeps with a light on at night, does not like to sleep at friend s houses, and cries in sad movies. Of course, none of his friends know about any of this as he acts cool and confident around school. Well, this child likely has a sensitive system that has created some anxiety. It may or may not affect his real functioning, but it tells us that despite his rough exterior, he has sensitive feelings and is at higher risk for developing bigger anxiety than someone who does not have these features. So for them, test anxiety 2
can develop without anyone really knowing or suspecting it. If anything, they will look like they don t care. d. The bottom line is that anxiety is not always visible and obvious you have to look for it. III. Test Anxiety a. Test anxiety doesn t just affect learning disabled students. It can affect anyone who has a sensitive system and anyone who is having particular difficulty in a subject area. b. Many children with test anxiety never say anything about it they don t even know they have it. They are so used to it that they don t know any better. Other children let everyone know that they have test anxiety- you can see the frustration on their faces or in their actions. IV. Signs and Symptoms of Test Anxiety a. Negative thinking i. I m going to fail ii. I don t know any of this! iii. Mom is going to be so mad when I get home. iv. I ll never be able to go to college or get a job. b. Excessive time needed to complete tests may have multiple causes, but one cause is obsessive thinking getting stuck reviewing specific test items. c. Physical symptoms tearfulness, anxious face, shaking, sweating, breathing hard, stomachache during test, headache during test. d. Knows information before the test, but does poorly on the test. V. Coping With Test Anxiety a. Remember that anxiety is a feeling of not being in control so dealing with test anxiety requires you to take steps to gain a FEELING OF CONTROL. b. PREPARATION i. Adequate preparation is the most effective prevention for test anxiety. ii. Must be prepared for the format of the test. Learn the game of the teacher. iii. Consider need for simple memorization versus integration and application. 3
iv. Consider need for recognition versus recall. Recognition can pick it out from text provided on the test Recall have to produce the information from scratch from memory v. Consider format type such as essay and short-answer versus objective. vi. Consider objective format type such as listing versus matching/fill-in-the-blank. vii. Knowing how the teacher constructs tests determines how you study and prepare. The first test is a great learning experience for learning how to play that particular teacher s game. viii. Practice timed tests at home take the drama of the timed test away through desensitization. Always keep the time limit the same so the child gets accustomed to that time span. However, you can start with fewer items - practice until comfortable (reports no anxiety), then move up gradually until you are matching the teacher s tests. ix. Memory tip for math facts many children have a page of problems to do at home for homework. The practice is designed to get them more automatized. However, some children with anxiety find such pages to be overwhelming. In addition to completing the homework, find time even if on a weekend to give them 1-2 math facts in repetition to get the fact more automatized. For example, some children think that they have to count in order to add 6+8. They start with 6 and count up 8 more. They may get dependent on counting rather than trusting their memories. This causes them to be slower and then causes increased anxiety over time. To alleviate this, write down for them (or have them write if writing is not disabled) 6+8= and 8+6 = approximately 20 times in mixed order. Have the child complete those problems and then say the entire problem aloud (each separate repeated problem). This will provide them with greater automaticity without creating more anxiety since it is so simple and not long. Then make sure that frequently throughout the next weeks, you quiz them orally on 6+8 and 8+6. The oral quizzing can be done while riding in the car, eating dinner, etc. c. Know the test taking strategies i. Scan the test for length, format, and general requirements. ii. Do the easy ones first and put a mark by the hard ones. iii. Remember to use the process of elimination for multiple choice and matching. iv. Pace your time don t spend 5 minutes trying to figure out 1 multiple choice question while only leaving 10 minutes to write an essay. d. If allowed (and don t be afraid to ask permission), write key information on the test as soon as you get it so that it is there when you need it. This includes formulas, lists, 4
or other memorized information that is conducive to this. This can significantly reduce the test anxiety. e. Before receiving the test, take a deep breath and tell yourself I can do this. Throughout the test, if necessary use deep breaths to calm body. f. If negative thoughts creep in, use truth statements to attack them. Example, I studied hard and learned this information. I can do this - just relax. It s just one grade it is not going to cause the world to end. g. After receiving the test, look over it to see the different types of questions and the overall length of the test. h. When you reach a question that stumps you, quickly move on and come back to it later. If you have a problem remembering to come back to skipped items, put a mark next to the question as a reminder for you. After you have finished the test, go back over it looking for the special mark to make sure that you answered everything. i. If you received a bad test grade prior to the test you are taking, don t let that derail your efforts. Remember that the point is to learn the teacher s game so that it s okay if you start rough you can get better. VI. Final Thoughts Obviously, finding out that your child or student has a learning disability can be quite upsetting and create worry and anxiety in you. Learning disabilities are sometimes harder to understand because we can t physically see it like we can someone in a wheelchair or with a hearing aid. Also, our worry about the effects on the child s future education and life cause us much concern. Sometimes this worry causes us to respond to the child in ways that are not helpful and may even create more disability. I often hear parents say things, such as he can t remember that he has ADHD! Instead, the message should be My child s ADHD affects her memory, so we are trying to find ways to help her to work around this problem. Would it be okay if she put an index card on her desk with a list of things she needs to remember on a daily basis? It is important to approach any child from a position of strength rather than weakness. For the child who cannot read, the message needs to be positive that the obstacle of reading will be overcome, such as Hang in there- you re going to get this. In the meantime, I m going to read things to you. Just keep trying hard and you will learn. 5