Three Tips for Easing Test Anxiety

It’s normal for your child to get nervous before a test or quiz at school. The intensity of their anxiety though is dependent on how confident and calm they feel. It’s important for your child to properly prepare, practice healthy habits, and be optimistic about the results.

Follow these tips to help ease test anxiety for your child:

1. Develop Efficient Study Habits.

Preparing for a test is a very important step in reducing test anxiety. It’s key to remember that every child is different. While some can capture everything after the first review, others may need to highlight key topics or write down notes on flashcards. Some students may even need to create mnemonics or do something unique that works for them.

Test and try different study habits and see which is the best fit for your child. Avoid pushing them to study a different way, or your way. What works for you may not work for them.

Additionally, sit with your child and determine a study plan together. Designate a time and place to study daily.  Begin strategizing on how the studying will be broken down. Help your child prioritize and delegate their time between different chapters or sections.

2. Provide Proper Resources.

Often students get embarrassed for asking for help on something that was taught weeks ago. They become unsure about the topic while studying and end up puzzled during exam time.

To avoid this, have your child create a list of topics or sections that they are struggling with. Then, take some time to review the list. Identify if your child simply needs a refresher on these topics or if they need further help. A great tip to verify their understanding is to see if they have already completed this level in Kumon. If they have, you can encourage them to review their worksheets and/or remember the method they used during that level.

Depending on your child’s age, you can also reach out to their teacher or you can encourage them to seek help from their teacher. Making the teacher aware of what your child is struggling with may lead them to find different ways of explaining difficult topics in class.

3. Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle.

The week of the test can be a very exhausting week. Be sure that your child is balancing homework, afterschool activities, but also eating and resting adequately.

It’s important to plan. If your child needs more time to study during test week then be sure to make alternate arrangements with extracurricular activities. However, if your child is on track with their studying, be sure to keep these activities. Going to a sport practice or ballet class is a good reward after spending hours of preparing for the test.

Another good way to reinforce and motivate your child is by providing them with positive affirmations. Have them repeat after you. It can be a simple “I got this!” or something more inspiring like “Hard work will pay off!” Engraving these positive thoughts will make your child feel optimistic and rewarded for their hard work. You can also schedule a fun evening or weekend activity after the test to reward your child for their hard work and preparation.

Easing Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is very challenging to manage and adds extra stress. With proper preparation and study habits your child will succeed. It’s crucial to see what tactics and strategies work best with your child. Ultimately, the most efficient approach of studying will be what determines their test grade. Be a supportive parent by putting into practice these steps to help ease your child’s test anxiety.