One of the most common causes of test anxiety is running out of time, or the fear of running out of time. The clock is ticking and you are stuck on a problem. The clock is ticking and you still have too many problems to go. The clock is ticking and you won’t have the time to review answers you were uncertain of.

There are three causes for test anxiety about running out of time. I’m going to bullet each one and then give you the remedies.

1. Not enough study. If you don’t really know the material well you’re going to stumble. You won’t have the certainty that comes from knowing that you know. “Study” means comprehending, learning, not just retaining. It also means practicing– doing simulated problems or taking practice tests. By studying in the right way you will use the time on the test more efficiently.
2. Self-doubt. Even if you are well-prepared for a test you may suffer from self-doubt once the test begins. You believe you can’t remember what you studied. your intuition isn’t giving you much help, and you aren’t sure of your answers. This leads you to perseverate on questions, over-think your answers, and leaves lingering doubts that make you want to go back and review your answers before the test is over. Self-doubt causes your internal clock to stop. The trouble is, the one on the wall is still ticking.
3. Distraction. Distraction takes several forms when you take a test. You start thinking about something else (what you’re going to do for your summer vacation), you become preoccupied with the person next to you (why can’t he stop fidgeting?), or you are evaluating your performance as you’re going along. All of these waste your valuable test time

What are the remedies?

1. Studying. Plan your study time. Make sure you start studying for a test with good lead time. Do not wait till the last minute.  Your study times should be broken up into 30-40 minute segments with short breaks in between (“short” means short. Just get up and get a drink of water, stretch your legs, go to the bathroom. NO texting, emailing, web surfing– save those for the longer breaks).  Make sure your study time includes practice– if you can find old exams, or with your study buddy make up some mock questions, or test yourself with flashcards. When you simulate the conditions of the exam, including setting the clock, you will have practiced in the most efficient way. You will be ready to take the test because you’ve practiced.
2. Confidence. You need to keep your confidence up throughout the exam. If it starts slipping you need to know how to get it back. There are three tools for maintaining confidence. All three are in my book. The best way to build confidence is to break up any problem into small manageable steps. Take each one in turn. Take each one successively. You’ll get to where you’re going, but if you rush ahead out of anxiety (“I don’t know this! I’m going to run out of time!”) the chances are you will make a mistake and you will run out of time. Think of what you can do rather than what you can’t.
3. Stay focused. Become aware of how you become distracted. Learn to stop the distraction just when it appears.Tune into what the next step should be. Take it decisively.  Example: you’re taking a test, you start thinking about the pizza party after it. Stop– that thinking is not taking you to your goal. What do you need to do get you back on track?  You’ll know. Do it.

If you’re having trouble with timing on tests you need to pinpoint the issue and consider why you are having it. I’ve given you the major three reasons people have difficulty on timed tests. If there is something I’ve missed. Please let me know.

Kudos to Millard Public Schools

In a recent post on a very enlightened website for Millard Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, a parent, Courtney H, writes:

I understand that test scores and school rankings are very important, but I also feel that children are put under a lot of pressure these days to succeed. I would love to see more stress management activities/test anxiety suggestions taught as well as math and reading. Don’t just tell the kids to get good sleep and a healthy breakfast for test days. Teach them important life skills such as deep breathing, positive thinking, coping skills. I believe if we addressed test anxiety it could actually help the over all scores, and teach children valuable skills for their future.

Reading this made my heart go out for all the parents around the country like Courtney H who  Continue reading →

Baseball star Aubrey Huff is getting a lot of attention. Yesterday the SF Giants announced  that he’s been put on the disabled list because of an anxiety attack. I received requests from the SF Chronicle for an interview on the story and also from two local radio stations (KQED and KKSF).  Though I can’t comment on Huff’s situation, I can express my concern and also appreciation for what he’s going through. My concern is for his welfare and those close to him. An anxiety disorder of any kind is difficult to deal with and can be debilitating. Fortunately there are a variety of effective treatments — psychological and pharmacological– that can be helpful.  The appreciation is for being public about what’s going on. Though he may not have had much choice in the Giants’ announcement, the news is actually a public service. Many many people of all ages suffer from anxiety, and specifically from performance anxiety. Kids Continue reading →

A recent blog post on assessing what students learn in college raises the issue of what are students really learning?

Just this week I had a new client come in for a consultation. An extremely competent surgeon, he suffers from performance anxiety while speaking with colleagues. He is continually feeling “less than” and his anxiety is in the way of him showing his deep competency and making a true contribution that could have lasting benefit for many people. What’s missing in this picture?

This doctor’s performance anxiety is actually a form of test anxiety or test stress. While he learned everything he had to learn in his many years of schooling and training, he never was taught the critical skills needed to build and maintain self-confidence. This is not a surprise, I’ve worked with many competent people over the years who lack confidence. Why?
Principally they were never taught about this vital aspect of life and how necessary it is in facing life’s tests. In 35 years of clinical practice as a performance psychologist and 40 years as Continue reading →

Stop tearing your hair out!

“I HATE TESTS! I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”  How often I hear these words in my work with students and adults.  Yes, testing makes just about everyone anxious and hopelessly competitive. It turns young people off to learning because it puts the focus on results rather than process and because so much hinges on test scores– from college admissions, to teachers’ salaries, to school closings, to job placements.

But testing is inevitable-and necessary-and tests are not going away any time soon. You may hate tests, but you still have to deal with them Hate is a strong feeling. It is filled with passion. Hating something can make you fight or drive you away from it. But if you have to take tests, which we all do in our lives, fighting with them or running away from them is not going to help Continue reading →

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution ran a story this past weekend on test-score tampering across the nation. This morning there’s a video chat with the AJC reporters on Facebook. The issue of test tampering is serious in many ways. It sends a message to students that cheating is permissible and even warranted in some situations. It gives parents and teachers an inaccurate picture of how their students are actually performing. It brings into question public policy on testing.

From my standpoint, as a performance psychologist, test tampering speaks directly to the issue of test stress.  We are loading so much emphasis on test scores– from school budgets to teacher salaries to school closings– that the stress on teachers, administrators, and politicians keeps building with no relief.

A known, scientific fact is that when stress builds performance suffers. This was first studied in the early 1900′s and is as true today as it was then. Testing is not going to go away and for many reasons it is necessary.  Public policy makers– state legislators, national representatives, departments of education at every level — must pay attention to the stress that testing is causing. This has a negative effecs on local school officials, on teachers, parents and ultimately on students. No one functions well with this level of stress. If the tampering scandals tell us one thing it’s this:  when stress is so high, it hurts.

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s noted daily newspaper in English, featured yesterday an article I was invited to write. Titled, “The Fine Balance Between Stress and Stimulation,” the article grows out of a lively conversation I had with SCMP editor and journalist Alex Lo.  I responded to an article Mr. Lo wrote about parenting (see my post below on November 22). I am honored to have received this invitation and I thank Mr. Lo for this auspicious introduction of my work to Asia.  A Happy New Year indeed!

I am on a trip to Hong Kong and India and have been reviewing my work over the past year.

One of the most profound experiences I had was a trip in November to Umatilla, Oregon– which is in the eastern part of that great state. Beautiful plains and rolling hills. Horses, cattle, cowboys. Still the west and some of it wild.

The purpose of my trip was to raise funds for a scholarship program at the Two Rivers Correctional Institution, a state prison in Umatilla.  About a year ago one of the prisoners received a copy of my book and he and I have been in correspondence since. He was part of a state funded program to see some prisoners through an academic program leading to an associates degree. That was, until the Continue reading →

I did it!

Why is this such an often-asked question?  Because many people experience the same thing: feeling not-too-confident about remembering lots of information as test-time comes approaches.  The answer to “How do you become confident….”  is simple You become confident in anything by taking small, manageable steps. Think about how a baby learns to walk. She doesn’t drop out of the womb and run  across the room. Not a chance. She lays on her back, turns over, gets up on all fours, crawls, slowly lifts herself up holding onto something (or someone), takes tentative steps, falls, gets up, takes a few more steps, falls again.  And this takes months and months. All this is on the way to having confidence.  Confidence is not just a mental action or a feeling, it’s a direct result of what you do, the consistent, directed actions you take.   Continue reading →