5 Tips For Reducing Anxiety During Testing Season

Across much of America, spring means testing season. Students, parents, and even teachers tend to lament the season’s arrival. Standardized assessments remain controversial and polarizing. Most students will face them in one form or another in the latter half of each school year. The pending assessments have become a source of anxiety for many students. Test anxiety can’t be eliminated completely (or maybe it can), but the following tips might help students alleviate some of this test-related stress.

1. Monitor Diet – This might seem simple enough, but it can have far-reaching impact. Parents should be particularly careful about what their children eat or drink during the weeks of testing. Students need energy to get through test sessions, but excess sugar or caffeine can exacerbate any existing anxiety. Caffeine indeed can increase focus. However, if a student already experiences palpable anxiety related to the tests, the caffeine can increase this. The small bodies of young test takers don’t need much extra sugar or caffeine to become jittery. As a replacement, parents should seek high-quality carbohydrates and proteins for students heading to school on test days.

2. Breathe and Exercise – Deep breathing can be an effective calming technique. Students will need to be taught how and when to use this. Such techniques are most effective while students feel anxiety mounting, but they might help mitigate anxiety while students are in the throes of an anxiety episode. The best part about using purposeful, regulated breathing is students can use this independently.  Students should exercise as a means of releasing energy and taming stress. This can happen during the weeks leading up to the tests, or even throughout the testing cycle. Some students might feel too drained for physical activity after lengthy testing sessions. The activity need not be strenuous, though. A brisk walk might be enough for students to feel some relief.

3. Seek Accommodations – Students with special needs typically receive accommodations for state and local assessments. Some receive these through IEPs, while others do through 504 Service Agreements. Parents who are concerned that anxiety might interfere with their children’s performance or overall well-being might choose to pursue the possibility of accommodations for the tests. Test anxiety alone isn’t grounds of an IEP, but anxiety that can be verified by a physician as inhibiting a life function could be enough to secure a Service Agreement. Through such an arrangement, students might be able to get extra time to take the tests, they might be able to test in a small group or a separate room, or they might get to take breaks as needed to cope with residual anxiety. Other accommodations are possible as well. In some states, such accommodations are available to students whether or not they have any diagnosis or are receiving any services.

4. Put the Tests in Perspective – Some caution is recommended before proceeding with this tip. Standardized assessments have different functions in different states and school districts. State tests might be used as a component of determining promotion or graduation. This depends on the state, however. Nearly half the states in the country don’t do this. For students who aren’t living in those high-stakes states, parents might want to discuss the relative importance of tests with their children. The suggestion here isn’t to tell students to ignore the tests and not bother trying to do well. Instead, it is to attempt to reduce tension in anxious students by reminding them that their academic lives won’t be ruined if their performance falls below some established threshold. Preserving mental health is key for those students who greatly struggle with anxiety. With that however, students who feel pronounced anxiety over tests might need additional support for coping with this anxiety so it doesn’t inhibit them in later endeavors.

5. Opt-Out – This tip might be as controversial as the tests. It might be the only method of completely averting anxiety. Opting out of standardized assessments is nothing short of a movement in America today. The reasons for opting out often are ideological. Anxiety could be a practical reason for going this route. Doing this is easier in some states than others. It could be seen as a drastic measure, but it is a measure that is increasing in popularity. If a student is in danger of an actual mental health crisis over the possibility of taking a test, opting out might necessary. Once again, some kind of treatment might be recommended for students experiencing that degree of anxiety.

Parents and school officials can work together to find ways to lessen test anxiety. Sometimes school wide incentive programs for attendance and participation can act as motivators that while alter student perspectives about the tests. The key is finding something that helps those students who are most bothered by the specter of testing season. Getting through can take a team effort.

Written by Jeff Hartman