Test Anxiety

What is test anxiety?

Anxiety itself is a reaction that occurs when we perceive ourselves to be in danger, either from a physical threat or from an evaluation by others. Test anxiety simply means anxiety that occurs during a test.

Anxiety expresses itself in two general ways: physically and mentally. Some people mostly get physical manifestations, some people mostly get mental manifestations, and some people get both.

Physical manifestation include shaking or trembling, sweating, increased heart rate, nausea, tense muscles and diarrhea. These occur because of the adrenalin in your system which your body has provided to deal with the perceived danger.

Mental manifestations include "going blank" and having "racing thoughts". "Going blank" refers to those times when your mind refuses to recognize or recall material during a test, but readily (and infuriatingly) recognizes or recalls it before or after the test. "Racing thoughts" refers to those times when your brain is going a hundred miles an hour with the effort to recall everything you studied and to recall everything you studied and apply it to test questions.

Do you have test anxiety?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I know the material well enough when I take the test?

Yes

No

2. Do I get so anxious during tests that my concentration suffers?

Yes

No

3. Do I go blank and find myself unable to recall material that I know?

Yes

No

4. Do I work so fast that I make silly mistakes or misread questions?

Yes

No

5. Does anxiety often interfere with my performance so much that my grade does not reflect how well I really know the material?

   Yes

   No

Here is what your results mean:

• If you answered "No" to number one, you do not have text anxiety. You have anxiety that is realistic, either because you are not studying enough or because you are trying to learn material that is too difficult or too advanced for you.
• If you answered "Yes" to number one and "No" to the rest of these questions, you do not have test anxiety.
• If you answered "Yes" to number one and "Yes" to any of the others, you have some degree of test anxiety. You may want to contact the Counseling Center for additional testing and help, or you may also want to contact one of our study skills tutors for additional assistance in how to prepare for tests and manage test anxiety.

Information on this page was adapted from Handling Test Anxiety by Michael King, Ph.D. of the Western Washington University Counseling Center.