That nervous feeling, sweaty palms, upset stomach, heart pounding out of your chest, that’s the feeling of test anxiety. It does not only affect you, but your performance, causing you to see that letter grade you absolutely dread.
Researcher Charles Spielberger estimate that 20 to 30 percent of American students experience test anxiety. They perform 12 percent below their non-anxious peers. Often when testing in school children have panic attacks that consist of headaches and blanking out, leaving them staring down at the page unable to remember the material.
Your heart beating out of control is the adrenaline to ensure you are awake and alert, but the symptoms that come along with it, are difficult to handle, making it hard to concentrate on tests. The do’s and don’ts on test taking were thought of to help students with their struggle to focus and to make test anxiety become extinct.
