Test Prep Books/Effective Study Skills for Test Taking Anxiety

One of the best receivers in the NFL

On Super Bowl sunday the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story by reporter Ron Kroichick about the pressure athletes face in big events. Titled “Handling pressure lifts good athletes to greatness,” Kroichick’s interviewed me and others about what great athletes need to do in the clutch.  What played out in the game couldn’t have been more to the point.

In the post-mortem, Patriots wide receiver, Wes Welker, commented on the pass he missed that could have won the Pats the game:  ”It comes to the biggest moment of my life, and (I) don’t come up with it…most critical situation, and I let the team down.”  What happened?  Welker drew a blank. “It’s one of those plays I’ve made 1,000 times,” he said.

That’s the clue and here’s my two cents:  no matter how many times you’ve done something successfully in the past, what matters is what you’re doing right now. This is as true on the ball field as it is on stage as it is when you take an test.

What slipped– besides the ball– for Welker?  I would say it was likely his focus.  Of the three legged stool– calm, confidence and focus– if his confidence was over-strong (“It’s one of those plays I’ve made 1,000 times”)– it could have thrown him off balance, causing him to lose focus at the critical moment. In other words: he wasn’t in the present. The consequence: missing the ball and losing the game.

It’s a hypothesis. But you can test it out yourself. When you do something you’ve done 1,000 times before, take note of how much (or how little) you are actually paying attention at that moment to what you are doing. Are you really in the present or are you on autopilot? You’ll be surprised.  In fact, you might find that you actually have to turn up the focus juice just because you’ve done it so many times before.  It’s not rocket science, but it easily could mean the difference between winning and losing.

P.S. Of course there were other mishaps for the Patriots, and Welker’s is only half the story. The other is how accurate (or not) Tom Brady’s pass was. Remember: he’s done that play 1,000 times too.

What's wrong with this picture?

Had a most stimulating visit this afternoon to College Track at  their East Palo Alto site, where I met with their inspired site director, Sharifa Wilson, their ACT trainer, Ed Harris and College Track’s Director of New Initiatives, Geraldine Sonobe.  College Track is a growing program that works with under-resourced high school students to give them the nurturing they need to get into college. After the meeting I was buzzing with possibility.

I got on train to San Francisco where I met a young Israeli, Shai Magzimof,who works in the game development business. We had an animated talk about video games and my developing them as vehicles to train students in stress reduction (I know, it sounds like an oxymoron).  On the train Shai introduced me to a few games. I found them mildly amusing, especially the challenge of keeping myself calm as the game was pushing my nervous system in the direction of getting over-amped. But of course, I had my usual question: what’s really going on here? (usual answer: not much).   Shai was on his way to hear Fred Markus speak at a meeting of game developers at Dolby Studios in San Francisco, and I asked him if I could tag along. Read the rest of this entry »

You go tutors!

Every day I receive Google alerts about stories and statistics regarding test anxiety, test scores and test preparation. I like to keep current with what’s going on in the field.

Here’s one that came across my desk today:  It’s from “Janice R.” who runs a tutoring service in Palm Coast, Florida. Janice offers a good roadmap for students: familiarize yourself with the test, do some solid preparation and get ready for test day.

How often we overlook the essentials!

I applaud Janice R for getting the word out and offering what she can to students who may not be getting the guidance they need and deserve. Keep up the good work!

Janice R is a tutor at WyzAnt.com. Check out their website. While I am not personally familiar their services and therefore can’t yet recommend them, I definitely am intrigued to find out more, and suggest you look them over too.

Feeding the fire within

Every spiritual tradition teaches stopping.  It’s a way to break habits, a way to let space into your otherwise overcrowded life, a way to restore balance.

So this is my break.

I am at a remarkable retreat called vaidyagrama, a healing village, in the south of India. Until January 10, I will be away from computers and emails and telephones.

During times of retreat we can reflect on what has happened and what is to come.  But mostly, we can consider the great gifts we have, right now. 2011 was an extraordinary year. 2012 holds many promises.

I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year. I hope it is off to a good start in the direction that will most bring balance and fulfillment into your life.

Take a moment to breathe

New Year’s greetings to everyone, far and wide!  May it be a year of peace, health and prosperity for all.

Since the beginning of a new year is usually filed with resolutions– which are really thinly disguised attempts to change habits — I’m going to begin the year with a series of posts on habits.

Habits determine the quality of our lives. And they are fundamental if you want to reduce your stress around taking tests.

Life is made up of habits. Think about it. As you are reading this you are breathing (whether you are aware of your breath or not).  As Read the rest of this entry »

A young girl was brought to me because she was failing in math. Her parents were concerned that she wouldn’t get admitted to the competitive middle school to which she was applying. And there was also another potential problem: the interview. The girl, I’ll call her Amy, tended to shut down with strangers.

Sure enough, she wouldn’t talk to me.

OK, I thought, now what? I saw Amy eyeing a set of colored markers Read the rest of this entry »

After the days have gotten shorter and the nights longer we move through the winter solstice. The days begin to lengthen. More and more light comes in, slowly, little by little.

Christmas and Hanukah celebrate light:  Jesus, the light of the world, and the Hanukah, the eternal light in the holy temple.

What does this light mean to us?  It is the light of our spirit, the sustaining force that gives us each the illumination and power to clear Read the rest of this entry »

Follow your coach's direction

I’m in NY for a conference organized by the NY Times on “Schools for Tomorrow.” I met yesterday with Alexandra Zabriskie, a top-notch NY tutor for the SAT and ACT (and school subjects too).  Alex talked about coaching her students to take practice tests under the practice conditions, in other words, when it’s possible, to take at least one practice test  Read the rest of this entry »

Delia Lloyd. Blogger and Journalist

I was introduced to an interesting blog today and the post was apt for this site  “Do You Every Really Leave High School?” and it’s from the blog RealDelia: Finding Yourself in Adulthood,” written by  an American-born journalist in London, Delia Lloyd.  The post focuses on the anxiety dreams many of us continue to have about tests.   In my 35 years as I performance psychologist I’ve heard so many dreams about test anxiety that I’ve lost count. When I was a young child–just around the time I started school — I started having a full-blown nightmare about taking tests. The dream all took place on an enormous sheet of lined paper, the older kind with the red margin running up and down the left side. The teacher– something of a Alice in Wonderland Red Queen type — was standing at the top line, looking very imperious and scary. I had to go up to the top line on the page  and answer a question. My Jungian analyst friends would probably have a field day with this day, but Read the rest of this entry »

The right answer? Strengthen yourself.

The Silicon Valley Mercury News today published an article today about the SAT and ACT. Author Purvy Mody starts off by saying “The words SAT and ACT can conjure anxiety for even the most academically confident student. Standardized testing has become so talked about and so prepared for that I have heard of fifth-graders enrolling in SAT prep classes — something I am highly against.”

5th graders prepping for the SAT?  AYK?  (are you kidding?)

Mody ends the article with this: “Take a class if you need the structure, or get the official books and practice on your own. Whatever method you use, the most important thing is Read the rest of this entry »