Helping students manage exam anxiety

Some nervousness before an exam is useful, because it sharpens attention. Anxiety becomes a problem when it consumes the working memory the exam requires, so that a student who knows the material cannot reach it. The distinction matters, because the advice differs.

What is actually happening

Under threat, attention narrows and working memory is partly occupied by monitoring the threat itself. A student rereading the same question four times is not failing to understand it; they are running short of the capacity to hold it.

What helps before the exam

• Practise under exam conditions. Timed, silent, no notes. Familiarity with the conditions removes one source of threat entirely.
• Write down the worry. A few minutes of writing about exam fears shortly beforehand reliably helps some students, and it appears to offload the rumination rather than suppress it.
• Sleep over cramming. The last hours before an exam are worth more asleep than awake for almost everyone.
• Have a first move. Knowing exactly what to do in the first sixty seconds, such as reading all the questions and marking the easy ones, replaces panic with a procedure.

What helps during it

Slow breathing works, and works best when practised beforehand rather than attempted for the first time under pressure. Starting with a question that is certainly answerable produces early evidence of competence, which is worth more than the mark it carries.

For teachers and parents

Be careful with reassurance that raises the stakes. "You'll do brilliantly, you always do" is affectionate and adds pressure. "You've prepared, and one exam does not decide your future" is closer to both the truth and the useful thing to say. If anxiety is persistent, causes physical symptoms, or leads to avoiding school, involve a qualified professional.

Sources

• World Health Organization — Adolescent health
• American Academy of Pediatrics — HealthyChildren.org