What is Test Anxiety and How to Cope?

First of all, exam week is one of the opportunities to measure and evaluate students' academic achievement. Students experience anxiety due to negative thoughts that may occur during the exam. 

These negative thoughts lead to mental and physical difficulties in the student, seriously affecting exam performance. Unmanaged anxiety during the exam creates an active resistance to success in the student, leading to failure.

What is test anxiety? What are the ways to cope with test anxiety? How can I recognize that I am experiencing test anxiety? Let's take a look at the answers to all these questions and much more...

What is Exam Anxiety?

Anxiety, worry or anxiety are mood disorders that occur in situations perceived as dangerous or as a result of the evaluation of a possible future event as if it had already happened. It is a response mechanism of the body against unconscious danger. It occurs as a result of unrest in the physical and mental state of the individual. A person experiencing anxiety continues his/her life as a prisoner of the feeling that what will happen will always end badly.

Exam anxiety, a form of performance-based anxiety, is the inability to use the information learned during the exam effectively during the exam. It causes intense stimulation at the level of behavior and thought and reduces the efficiency of the student.

Intense anxiety has a significant negative impact on success. As the importance of the exam increases, the level of anxiety also increases. The student fails to answer a question that he/she can answer under normal conditions due to the anxiety he/she experiences. Exam anxiety is among the most common problems especially in adolescence and adulthood.

What are the Ways to Cope with Exam Anxiety?

The intense anxiety and stress that occur before exams, which constitute an important part of students' educational lives, bring negative consequences. It is important to take some precautions to cope with these factors. So, what are the factors that will enable you to spend the exam process in the most efficient way?

1. Sleep should not be disturbed before the exam.
2. A work program should be created.
3. Do not spend too much time with technological devices during the exam time.
4. Time should be allocated not only for studies but also for hobbies.
5. Studying should not be done until the last moment of the exam.
6. Pessimistic thoughts and stress should be avoided.
7. Exercise should be done.
8. A balanced and regular diet should be followed.
9. Motivating activities should be done.

What Causes Exam Anxiety?

There are many factors that contribute to the development of test anxiety, such as fear of failure, anxiety disorders, lack of readiness, and feelings of inadequate knowledge. As the importance of the exam increases, so does the level of stress experienced. The size of the meaning that the student or his/her family attributes to the exam, the great changes that may occur in case of success or unsubstantiated negative thoughts in case of failure cause anxiety in the student.

What are the symptoms of test anxiety and how do these factors affect test success?

How fear of failure affects test anxiety

It is a situation in which a student who has failed in previous exams by not getting the grade he/she wanted is prevented from taking action because of his/her anxiety about the possibility of getting a low grade in the other exams he/she will take. This fear prevents development by keeping the person in the background. To overcome the fear of failure, you must first set your goals and create a proper study program to achieve these goals. Proper planning will enable you to succeed by minimizing your fears.

How anxiety disorder affects test anxiety

Intense and persistent anxiety in people with anxiety disorder negatively affects performance success. If anxiety can be managed, the student can control his/her thoughts, focus on the questions and display his/her real performance.

How preparation affects test anxiety

What is the effect of feeling unprepared? It is one of the factors that cause pre-exam anxiety in individuals who think that they have not studied enough in the period leading up to the exam. In order to avoid this feeling, exam study should not be left to the last moment. Taking the exam with the deficiencies completed will eliminate the anxiety experienced.

How does a feeling of insufficient knowledge affect test anxiety?

It is an anxiety disorder that occurs in students who cannot study enough for the exam or who cannot trust their knowledge even though they have studied. In order to avoid the feeling of insufficient knowledge, study habits should be changed, subject-related deficiencies should be eliminated and time management should be ensured.

While academic performance is positively affected by stress management during the exam, intense stress has a negative impact on performance. Keeping the negative mood under control will ensure that the exam preparation process goes as desired. For more information about what not to do during exam time, you can take a look at our content Exam Stress and Ways to Cope with Stress.