Somewhere in between the ticking clocks, snapping pens, turning pages, and nervous glances,  a young mind drowns under the weight of academic pressure and external expectations. The blankness of their minds questions their effort. A desperate attempt for validation fails yet only their sleepless nights remain a testimony to their diligence. 

Exam anxiety or Test anxiety is a state of the stressful cognitive level where the amount of stress associated with preparation and performance in exams exceeds the coping level of the child. Distinguishing between the positive level of stress which energizes behavior, known as eustress, and the excessive stress which creates an imbalance in functioning and is difficult to restore, known as distress, the latter characterizes test anxiety and significantly impairs cognitive and emotional regulation. 

Why does your child experience test anxiety?

The child’s perception of the academic task, beliefs about one’s skills, perceived control over the task, and fear of the outcome connect the Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions with test anxiety. Hence, the causal factors that underlie test anxiety can be narrowed down to negative self-concept, particularly in academic performance and appraisal of the internal and external expectations of the student. If a student tends to regard the task as falling beyond her skill set, he/she places low value and low expectancies on the outcome which reduces performance. Along with these, any negative previous experience with exams, lack of adequate preparation, pessimistic thoughts and fear of failure, excessive pressure of achievement or perfectionism, and poor self-regulation and health habits during exams.

What does it look like?

A multi-dimensional definition of exam anxiety categorizes the symptoms within physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional concepts. 

Physical symptoms are caused by the biological processes which release adrenaline hormone to prepare oneself for the task and an excessive amount of adrenaline leads to nausea, sweating, and tremors. In some students, the recognition of these physical changes creates a preoccupation with failure. 

Cognitive effects formulate in the mind by creating difficulties in concentration and memory recall, disoriented and irrational thinking and obsession with failure, and worrying about shame and guilt associated with failure. Such students report an ability to recall the answer after the exam is over. One can observe behaviors such as strategies to avoid stress by procrastination, lack of sleep, and use of substances to distract themselves, restlessness, even skipping exams to avoid facing outcomes.

Emotional indicators of exam anxiety include a profound sense of shame or guilt, feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, anxiousness, and frustrated aggression. This can lead to depression and mood disorders due to the feeling of hopelessness. 

These multi-dimensional symptoms allow test anxiety to develop within the child and can often be neglected as the child’s inadequate preparation or the normalcy around students’ fear of exams. However, the negative implications of an anxious mind affect academic performance and this understanding of the self-doubt and fear embedded in the child will allow parents to grasp the root of these irrational thoughts and replace them with positive affirmations. Teach them that their past does not define them and they hold the pens to create a better future. Teach them hope and train them to rate themselves beyond a simple academic markscard.

Reference

Gotter, A. (2017, April 25). What Is Test Anxiety? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/test-anxiety#symptoms 

How to Know If You Have Test Anxiety & 7 Ways To Beat It. (2020, August 26). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-symptoms-of-test-anxiety-2795367

UNC-Chapel Hill Learning Center. (2021, October 1). Test Anxiety –. Learning Center. https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/tackling-test-anxiety/