Test-taking is a recurring nightmare for many students. You walk into the classroom, the teacher announces that there is a test, and you haven’t studied at all. Unfortunately, many students frequently struggle with test anxiety. In this article, I’ll be identifying common reasons that cause it, as well as how to reduce it.

Why Do We Get Stressed Over Tests?
In an article called “Examining Perceptions of Academic Stress and Its Sources Among University Students” by Dalia Bedewy and Adel Gabriel, they identified four main factors that contribute to a student’s stress: pressure to perform; perceptions of workload and examinations; self-perception, such as self-confidence and confidence in career success; and time restraints.

“Stress levels may escalate to significant proportions in some students, to present with symptoms of anxiety especially during tests and examination periods,” they claim. “In fact, previous research suggested a modest prevalence rate of 10 to 35% of college students experience functionally impairing levels of test anxiety.” Some may deal with the pressure of these four factors better than others; it all depends on the person. However, the cause of worrying about a test can be either from realistic fears or unfounded fears.

Realistic fears are rational fears. For example, if you’re scared that you’ll fail a test because you didn’t study at all, that’s a realistic fear. These fears can be dealt with by changing your behavior or way of thinking. If you know you have a big test to study for, think of different ways you can get yourself ready for it. Rearrange your schedule, make a detailed plan, and manage your time well are a few ways to tackle realistic fears.

Unfounded fears, on the other hand, are fears (no matter how unrealistic) created by your mind and imagination to intensify realistic fears. Sayings like, “I’m never going to find a job,” and “I’m not as smart as I thought I was,” are all examples of unfounded fears. These fears are irrational and can be tough the suppress. Try to let go and focus on what you can control: studying.

How To Reduce Stress
Make sure to prepare for the test by planning, scheduling, studying, and practicing. Start off by finding a location or place you can study quietly. Remove anything that may distract you if needed. Then, manage your time or make a schedule to distribute the hours you would spend each day studying. This includes classes, homework, extracurriculars, etc.

Remember to take breaks too, even if it’s quick. Taking deep breaths can help relieve tension in the body, as well as stress. Eat small snacks and drink water to replenish yourself to get more energy. Burning yourself out won’t help at all.

You should try to get enough sleep before the day of the test so when you wake up, you feel better. Eating a good breakfast also helps, after all, taking a test with an empty stomach can be exhausting.

Most importantly, don’t wait until the last day to start cramming your studies. Putting off your test until the last minute will only add to your levels of stress and anxiety.

When it comes to the day of the test, accept that you’ve done all that you can and let go of the problems you didn’t know. Having a positive mentality will always help, and if you didn’t manage to get a score you hope for, learn from your mistakes and try again. Good luck studying!

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