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  want more for their children than continual stress. Testing is inevitable, it’s not going to go away, but we need to give our students the life skills to deal with all the tests they face, in school and out. Students need to learn how to deal with tests  and all the other pressures on a daily basis. They need to how to be calm, how to remain confident, and how to stay focused.

I applaud Courtney and her parent colleagues, and I applaud the Millard Public Schools for giving them this excellent platform for airing and sharing their views.  Parents can make an enormous difference in standing up and speaking out for how their children should  be learning and so that the testing process and be empowering not debilitating.

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 a teacher I have found that the real tools for living a fulfilling life-one that contributes to society and a better world-are often sidestepped or overlooked throughout one’s academic career. These skills involve learning to be calm, confident and focused in facing any test. We are still trading life skills for book knowledge when book knowledge is not only more readily and globally accessible than ever before, while the need to create a better world has never been as pressing. I think the issue should be framed as: how can we assess whether colleges are preparing students for life?

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 you. You want to channel that powerful energy so you can achieve your dreams.

My aim in writing Test Success! is not to convince you to like tests. You don’t have to like tests to do well on them.  You can have a successful test-taking experience whether you like tests or not. What you have to learn to do is to empower yourself by using the nine tools to stay calm, confident and focused.  Use the tools when you are studying for a test.  Use the tools when you take a test. Anyone can learn to use the nine tools. Everyone can be empowered. Your whole experience of test taking can change.

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.

Don't count on it

A New York Times article about the SAT read, in part, “Many colleges acknowledge the limitations of the SAT.  DePauw University…asked its institutional research dept to do a study of past students to see what factors correlated with academic success. ‘The one thing that made no difference whatsoever was standardized test scores,’ said Cindy Babington, vice presidente for student services at DePauw.”

The article was about the Posse Foundation, founded in 1989 by Deborah Bial, to fund and mentor students through college. Time after time Posse students who have low SAT scores have college success.

What does this tell us?  According to the Times, “the Posse program reveals the poverty of the conventional wisdom concerning academic success. Our rules for college admission, and ideas about college achievement, are linear, but in reality, college achievement is complex. The factors are much more diverse than our educational system is built to accommodate. So are the people who succeed.”

I applaud this assessment and the work of the Posse Foundation. However, I  think it speaks to more than what the SAT scores do or do not predict. Two things stand out to me:  the importance of having a goal and working towards it, and that any test-an SAT, a biology final, a personal best in swimming-is really a training for all the tests we face on a daily basis in life.

Way too often we think the goal of a test is to hit a certain score so so we can move on to the next level, and the next test, and finally the ticket out. But there’s no “out” to life, and we are always facing tests-challenges big and small-in school and out. I believe  that any test-including the SAT- can be formative. They can actually help us grow. How? Learning the material, certainly, is one aspect of growth.  But there’s something deeper, with more lasting impact, when we prepare for and take a test. Something to learn that will serve us in any test, any where, any time. And that’s the opportunity to learn how to be calm, confident and focused in any test we face so we can claim our birthright and live up to our full potential. Every one of us.

Had the great surprise to meet Alexia Martinique (see pic on the right) now a communications intern whom I knew years ago when she was a bright light of the Young Entrepreneurs at Haas program (Y.E.A.H).  You go Alexia! And thanks Frank!

TEST SUCCESS!

Do have a look on The College Puzzle, a college success blog by noted Stanford University educator Dr. Michael W. Kirst.  Dr Kirst invited me to write a guest post, today featured on his website. The article is, “Get a Grip on Test Stress.”

Dr. Kirst’s blog is a most useful resource for college students helping them through the challenges of their college years. Do check it out, and thank you Dr. Kirst for including Test Success! in your mission.

"Bay Sunday" with Frank Mallicoat

A full weekend!

Two TV interviews on Sunday.  The first was on CBS (local affiliate KPIX), Bay Sunday with Frank Mallicoat

Next was on NBC (KRON) AM Weekend with Ysabel Duron and Marty Gonzales.

The press release on the book got picked up by HowToLearn.com and a news story comes out on Monday in US News and World Report.

Thank you Sharon Goldinger, Mary Ellen Gross and Javier Perez, my terrific publicists. Your dedicated, focused hardwork is paying off big time.