Transcript Test Anxiety - Killeen ISD

Taming Test Anxiety
Presented by:
Timber Ridge Counselors
What is Test Anxiety?
 Describe Feelings/Thoughts:
 Other Types of Anxiety:
 Friendships
 Life Changes (divorce, move, new school year, etc.)
 Performances (sports, theatre, music, dance, etc.)
 Other ideas?
What We’ll Do Today:
Try out test anxiety tips:
Ways to remember things
Ways to relax
Learn more about the signs of test anxiety
(and how to prevent it from happening)
Prepare for the STAAR
Have fun!!!
Factsthe pressure is felt everywhere
From recent issue in Time Magazine, Feb. 11, 2013
 17 is the min. number of exams a student will take from 3rd grade to
12th grade to comply with No Child Left Behind.
• 203 pages in a manual and a separate security supplement that Texas
school-district administrators must read in preparation for
administering standardized tests.
• $22 is annual amount per student Florida spends on testing, up from
about $5 in 1997.
• 104 Chicago public schools closed, consolidated, phased out or had
their staff replaced from 2001-2012, in part, because of poor student
test scores.
Facts
 When students are anxious, their worries use up
some of their working memory, leaving fewer
cognitive resources to devote to the test.
 One proven method to reduce anxiety is to have
students spend 10 minutes writing about their
thoughts and feelings immediately before taking a
test.
 Writing about something the student values and
describe why it matters to them, showed
significant increase in scores, especially
with minority students and females.
Before the test
 Eat a good breakfast: blueberries are a brain fruit,
protein is shown to be beneficial in cognitive
thinking. Avoid too much sugar or caffeine, they tend
to make you experience a “crash”
 Sleep! Children 5-12 years old should be getting 1011 hours of sleep.
 Exercise is good to stimulate the brain, walking,
running, jumping, bi-lateral toe touching, and
dancing before and after the test is a great idea.
Memory
 Ways to remember information:
 Look up, visualize your notes
 Look up and to the left—activates past knowledge
 Great for spelling words
 Bi-lateral motion
 Visual notes
 Speak with an accent or funny voice
 Great for remembering new information
 The power of lemon, peppermint, and cinnamon
 Peppermint the best because it also boosts energy
Other tips/tricks to help test
 Put something comforting and tactile
in your pocket to finger while testing.
 Smile, a big smile
 Take a break and go to the restroom
 While in the restroom, sing “happy and you know it.”
Laugh at yourself.
 While in the restroom, run in place, do bi-lateral toe
touching, stretch out legs, and/or roll your neck.
 Visualize a happy place.
 Stress ball-can make one as well
How to Relax
Stretch your calf muscle-tense and relax all
muscles—relaxation technique
Breathe in through your nose, and out through your
mouth (optimal oxygen to the brain)
Massage your forehead, just above the eyebrow
Visualize something that makes you happy-smile
Recite something positive-”I am always calm &
confident under pressure.” “I got this!”
Confidence!
 You can do it! Just believe in yourself, even if
people tell you that you are not good enough.
 Someone made millions of dollars selling “pet rocks”
 By the time you are 18, you will have heard “no,” “don’t,”
etc. over 300,000 times
 “You are never a loser until you
quit trying.” –Mike Ditka
Resources
 Time Magazines, Feb. 2013
 Choke: What Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It
Right When You Have To by Sian Beilock, cognitive scientist
at University of Chicago
 Brilliant: The New Science of Smart by Annie Murphy Paul
 Children with high Stress Levels by Donna Forrest, Ed.S.,
L.P.C. and Brandi Rogers, M. Ed.
Questions?