Test-Taking Tips for Students
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Do you have students that struggle with test anxiety? While many students do have confirmed diagnoses related to anxiety, I find that the majority of my students display a tendency to be anxious or nervous before assessments both big and small. While there are a number of factors that contribute to a student’s emotional well-being and mental health, I have learned through countless conversations with students what their common triggers are. Here is what I do to help address students’ main concerns regarding assessments as proactively as I can.
Let Students Choose Their Audience
At the start of the year, when I have students fill out a get-to-know-you survey, the majority of students share that they get nervous before tests, or do not like speaking in front of the class (a common assessment style in World Language!). Now, when I assess speaking, I really try to consider what I am assessing. Is public speaking part of the standard I am assessing? It rarely is! So, whenever possible, I try to allow students to choose who their audience is. Would they like to present in front of the class? (Some students like this option!) Would they like to use a platform like Flipgrid or complete their speaking assessment one-on-one with me? Would they like to present in front of a small group? I am always amazed at what a variety of options students choose. We start the class with those who wish to present to everyone (there are always a couple!). Then, while the majority of students are working to present or record independently, I sit with a small group as they present to each other. After the first speaking assessment, students often share that “it really wasn’t that bad.” What a difference!
Discuss Gradebook Access
Another trigger for anxiety for many of my students is the fact that students’ grades are published in an online gradebook to which students and parents have immediate access. When I check who is logging into a student’s account, I often see hourly log-ins by students or parents. I know we all have had parents frantically contact us about a minor homework assignment, or argue about a school-wide policy of putting a zero as a placeholder. Students have even frantically emailed me to put in their assessment grade on Monday rather than Friday so that their parents won’t keep them from playing in an important weekend sports game. So, I make sure to discuss gradebook access at parent conferences and open house with students and parents alike. Even though checking hourly is tempting, it’s not always an accurate representation of what a student’s actual performance is. I encourage them to set an alarm in their phone to check throughout the week to move away from the habit of checking grades impulsively. This strategy helps make the online gradebook a tool to monitor progress rather than a trigger for anxiety.
Bring Assessments into the Conversation
In speaking with students and families, I have found that the educational jargon that we use can sometimes be confusing. As we have shifted nationally to including more performance-based assessments, many terms have been lost in translation. Many of our families are most familiar with the terms “test” and “quiz.” The terms formative assessment, summative assessment, assessment for learning, assessment of learning, or in World Language, speaking assessment, listening assessment, reading assessment, writing assessment, etc., can be confusing. It’s not always obvious to students and families how and how much to prepare for these assessments, or how much they weigh in a traditional gradebook. In fact, many students greet me daily by asking “do we have a test today?” (even if there is no assessment written on my posted agenda!) In trying to investigate the sentiment behind this question, I have found that students perceive even small entrance or exit tickets as “tests” if they will be published in their online gradebook. In response, I make sure I discuss upcoming assignments and assessments every day. After our greeting and checking in with students, I briefly show students on Google Classroom where they can find any upcoming assessments or assignments, clarify how they will impact their gradebook, describe what they can expect to see on those assignments and assessments, and explain how they connect or build to upcoming assessments.
Give Students Impactful Strategies for Stress Management
Before an assessment, I will lead a short guided anxiety-reducing exercise. Sometimes I do guided breathing exercise. While the positive impact of breathing and meditative exercises are well known, I try and share small snippets of recent research to help them understand the connection between breathing mindfully and test anxiety (Cho et al., 2016). You can simply guide your students in purposeful breathing, or do your favorite counted breath technique!
Other times, I use a hand technique I’ve used for years! While there are lots of fantastic techniques, my favorite is to have them press firmly on the bottom of their thumb (there’s a soft pad there!) and in the center of their palm (Pattemore, 2021). Not only does this technique reduce anxiety (Mobini-Bidgoli et al., 2017), but it’s a low-impact and non-disruptive way to encourage mindfulness before an assessment.
What do you do to address test anxiety in your classroom? Did we miss any great ideas?
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References
Cho, H., Ryu, S., Noh, J., & Lee, J. (2016). The effectiveness of daily mindful breathing practices on test anxiety of students. PloS one, 11(10), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164822
Kornell, N. (2009). Optimising learning using flashcards: Spacing is more effective than cramming. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 23(9), 1297-1317. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1537
Mobini-Bidgoli, M., Taghadosi, M., Gilasi, H., & Farokhian, A. (2017). The effect of hand reflexology on anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography: A single-blind randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 27 (2017), 31-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.01.0021744-3881
Pattemore, C. (2021, June 22). Give stress the finger: Try these 3 hand-based relaxation techniques. Greatist. https://greatist.com/discover/hand-techniques-for-stress#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
