Sweaty palms, a racing heart, shaking hands: these symptoms sound as if they belong to someone who is about to go on a roller coaster ride. Yet this what many students experience when they sit down to take a test. A small amount of test anxiety is normal, and nearly every college student experiences this phenomenon at some point in his or her life. However, when that anxiety becomes overwhelming and gets out of control, a student’s entire thought process can go haywire. In such a situation a student can lose all ability to concentrate and consequently do poorly on a test. Luckily, there is a solution to this stress-inducing affliction and it is far simpler than you may think.

The key to reducing test anxiety is writing. Writing is a purging process: research has shown that students do better on an exam when they write about their anxieties shortly before taking it. Writing allows students to release any pent up feelings of discomfort and nervousness they may have, greatly reducing their anxiety level. According to U.S. News & World Report, the catharsis students experience when writing about their thoughts and feelings can also help diminish the anxiety of simply enduring a particularly stressful classroom situation.

Questia.com suggests that the reason students have test anxiety in the first place is that they don’t feel confident enough that they’ll know how to correctly answer all the questions, i.e. they fear that they will achieve a bad grade. While this is a logical concern, an extreme sense of fear, which is what test anxiety and phobia are, is not logical.

However when students writes down their illogical or unrealistic fears, the overwhelming sense of dread they feel can be gradually eliminated, or at least diminished. This enables students to simply be themselves when taking a test, allowing them to feel more refreshed and liberated when facing the challenging questions on the examination.

It is not just the test and its associated grade that brings the students fear. The anxiety also comes from what the future consequences of taking the test will be. For instance, students often worry that getting a low grade on an exam will hurt their chances of being accepted into a good college, or limit their occupational choices thereafter. However, if they simply jot down these fears, even in as slight a form as a list, their overall anxiety will greatly be reduced, and their test results improved.

This helpful procedure has been proven to work with all age groups, from elementary school to college level. Similarly, this method for reducing test anxiety is effective in multiple settings. The Washingtonpost.com reports that this writing process can also work if the student is taking an online test. The student doesn’t have to be in a classroom for it to be effective. The most important factor is that they are taking a test.

Clearly, instructing a class to write down their anxieties is something to consider integrating into examination. While such a change will not cause students to become any smarter, it can allow them to better express their thoughts by helping them to become more relaxed and focused. Expressing their anxieties on paper will not only provide students the opportunity to become more focused when taking exams, but it also allow them to feel more secure in their abilities in the classroom-testing environment.

Lots of Kids are anxious about taking tests. They can feel pressured to do well and it can have a detrimental effect on their self esteem should they fail. Children wrongly associate test success with how smart or capable they.

The reality is success at tests is in a large part down to factors which can be improved dramatically with some effort.

It is useful to remind a nervous test taker that the test is about knowledge and skill. So, the trick to successful test-taking is to follow the five “P” strategy:  Plan, Prepare, Practice, Be Positive and Punctual.  These strategies assure that a student is able to effectively demonstrate his/her grasp of a subject.

Plan — At least a week before the test date, Set aside time each day to spend a little time reading, reviewing, and remembering.  Break the expected information (chapters, ideas, techniques) in to sub-sections and plan on focusing each day on just one sub-section.  This step is important because it allows students to mentally prepare for the test.  The pre-test jitters are reduced because the student is aware of the time put in and the effort to learn boosting his/her confidence.

Kids know when they haven’t done their best.  Students who don’t plan for the test often feel unprepared because they know they may have shirked their responsibility avoiding the nose-to-the-grindstone time spent.  And, their self-acknowledged lack-of-effort undermines the confidence that is required for successful test-taking.

Prepare — Some kids can just read the material and “get it”.  Others need additional modes of information input.  Outlining the chapter or rewriting notes from class in an outline form can help kids organize the information.  Outlining also helps to illuminate what pieces of information are missing.  Plus, for “visual” kids, a visual snapshot of the outline creates a picture that the student can access visually during a test.  Sometimes talking about what you know helps cement it into your memory.  Reading through an outline out-loud and telling someone else between-the-lines information, helps “auditory” learners store the information.  They’re thinking, talking and hearing their own words, making them more memorable and available during a test.

Practice –Making up test questions can often help students practice before taking the test.  When important information is formed in a question, the key ideas can be emphasized.  When taking the test, students are wise to “highlight” (in their minds if not on the test paper), the key words that determine what the question is really about.   Practicing the process of breaking questions down into their key words makes the process easier and more accurate when taking tests. In addition, having some idea about what might be on the test and how it might be worded can ease the jitters and build confidence during the actual test.

Be Positive – Remember: You can do it — others have done it — and most have survived!  And, if the student has planned, prepared, and practiced for the test, he/she has the best chance of doing well.  A little like Dumbo’s feather, kids who have done the work have more confidence because they believe they are prepared.  Unlike Dumbo’s feather, it is legitimate confidence based upon real study skills.

Be Punctual –to prevent feeling rushed or hurried.  Student’s anxiety creates a physical state of anxiousness (nervousness, sweating, heart palpitations, rapid breathing).  Then when kids “feel” anxious, they think they “are” anxious.  This mistaken belief can often block a student’s ability to relax during the test –with his/her mind open and available for the questions on the test.  Being relaxed before the test begins (by being on time) helps keep students relaxed and attentive during the test, confident they are ready to do their best.

One of the most effective ways of increasing your chances of passing  exams at school is to obtain past Test papers.

There are 4 reasons for this:

1. It enables you to establish the type of questions being asked.
2. How those questions will be marked. For exam some answers carry more points then others
3. Carry out a practice timed assessment to establish how to manage your time during the exam.
4. They enable you to go back and review information from books or notes that are most important for the exam.

The earlier you obtain past papers the better as it enables you to gear your revision around the type of questions that you are likely to get asked.

Here is a list of downloadable Past test papers for different age groups for those taking SATs. These are for exams taken in the United Kingdom but these test papers are still helpful for those of the same age taking other exams at school.

PAST SAT EXAM TEST PAPERS

If you are about to take a test or you are helping your child study for an exam then you may find the following tips for exam revision useful.

Studying for an important test can be a stressful time for anyone particularly if you are unprepared, ill-advised and you have left revision late.

Exam revision should be started well before the exam. This will make it easier to absorb the information. Recall and comprehension of the study material is increased and the process is less stressful.

How past test papers can assist revision

A crucial step to preparing for a test is to give priority to study material that will be of greatest use for revision purposes. To do this you must have a good idea of the type of questions that will be asked during the exam.

You can obtain this information by talking to their teacher. Ask them what key areas will be emphasised in the test. Whether the test involves multiple choice or written answers and what reading material your child should give the greatest attention to.

As early as possible try to obtain past test papers for previous examinations. You should try and obtain past exam papers for a number of reasons.

Passing tests is not just about knowing what answer to give but also how to answer a question. Some questions will carry more points then others which usually involve more then one answer. It is important you know how points are rewarded and how examiners will mark the test.

Obtaining past exam papers will enable you to test your child against the clock. It is vital your child manages his or her time effectively during the exam. Getting every question correct but partially completing a test paper can still result in a fail.

The revision process

Revision involves 3 fundamental steps. Firstly planning and managing your time effectively. A timetable can be useful for this. Secondly focusing on what matters. Past test papers will have made it easier to concentrate on key areas most likely to be asked during the exam. Thirdly writing notes efficiently that can also be reviewed quickly before an exam.

How to use mind maps for revision

Don’t let your child get bogged down writing too many notes from books. In fact its best to avoid writing linear notes altogether. These can be monotonous, boring and difficult to recall.

The most effective notes are those that utilize colour, drawings and highlight the key topics that make it easy to locate the information that matters.

Effective note taking is crucial for learning, creativity and memory if the correct note taking is utilized. Avoid linear note taking and instead focus on Mind maps which utilize drawings colour and keywords and phrases.

Mind mapping involves the use of images, symbols and words to represent ideas and knowledge in a visual form where the central theme or topic is located at the centre of the mind map and subtopics are arranged around a central image or keyword.

Mind Maps are very effective note taking techniques due to the way that mind maps arrange and present information. Images and drawings are much easier to remember and the branches on the mind map help the mind to organize and associated related information which is crucial for recall. Also the most important information is easier to find and scan quickly making it easier to review information quickly before an exam.

You should create mind maps for each topic of the subject you are revising for. They should start off creating a mind map of knowledge that can be recalled from memory. This is knowledge that has been gained from books, notes, classroom activities and discussions. Also knowledge of the subject you have gained from outside the classroom. It is easier to build upon pre-existing knowledge

The mind is better able to recall information when images are used to represent key ideas, and associations are made between key ideas. The branches in a mind map and the images make this possible.

As they revise for the test their mind map should become more detailed with keywords, pictures, and phrases representing key ideas and points.

Reviewing the mind map every few days and trying to recall as much as possible from memory is an essential element of revision. This is because constantly recalling information is important to preserve and re-enforce knowledge in long term memory.

Reviewing before the exam

A few days or so before the exam encourage them to review their mind maps. Ask them to recall as much as possible for each key area. They should be able to scan their mind map and recall from memory related information. This will reveal any gaps in their knowledge that can be filled in by revisiting the material.

A day before the exam they should get plenty of sleep and make sure they understand the requirements for the test such as what can be brought into the exam room. Drink plenty of water as dehydration can cause tiredness and diminish concentration.

Gaining as much information as possible about a test by talking to the teacher and obtaining past test papers, combined with effective note taking will significantly increase their chances of success.