Career Confidential: Teacher wants to support students with test anxiety

I teach high school math, and while test anxiety is nothing new, it feels like more and more of my students these days are incapable of managing it. It shows up in all kinds of ways. Some students burst into tears before a test. Some skip class on test days if they feel unprepared. Many of them cheat. Some will ask me a thousand questions in the days leading up to a test in an attempt to figure out what I plan to include. None of this is new, but the cumulative anxiety is more palpable in recent years.

I know I can’t “make” a student relax, but I want to do what I can to help them stay calm and do their best work. Plus, I can’t imagine they’re able to learn or retain much information when they’re in this stressed-out state. What can I do to help them?

I can tell you’re a thoughtful teacher by your question. You recognize that anxiety can manifest in different ways, and you understand that test anxiety is more complex than blowing out a candle. Plus, different students get stressed for different reasons. For instance, while some may be worried about long-term implications (i.e., college admissions), others may be worried about disappointing or angering parents. Some may not even know why they’re freaking out.

What can you do? First, name the elephant in the room. Acknowledge students’ stress and initiate a conversation about how they might manage it more productively. Help them understand that not all stress is bad; for instance, a little stress can provide motivation to study. Along those lines, remind them that they can ease their anxiety by developing a plan, such as seeking extra help from you in the days before the exam, studying with classmates, or doing extra practice problems. Talk about test-taking strategies, such as time management, reading questions carefully, and skipping tough problems and returning to them later. Research shows that practicing in performance conditions can help, too, so you could try giving them mock timed tests in class and reviewing the answers together afterward.

As you pointed out, you can’t make a kid be less anxious, but you can give them a greater sense of control. For example, you can share calming strategies, such as deep breathing, progressive relaxation, or visual imagery. You can suggest they prepare themselves by using imaginal exposure, which involves mentally walking themselves through a test scenario in advance. If they can feel the emotions ahead of time, they’ll feel less intense at the time of the test. You can share that research shows that self-affirmations, such as “I’ve studied and I’m prepared” or “My best is good enough,” can help kids respond to challenges in productive ways. Research also shows that kids are less likely to freeze if they reframe their jitters as excitement. Remind them that no one manages stress well if they’re overtired and encourage them to get enough rest. And you can normalize that everyone feels performance pressure at times and encourage them to collectively brainstorm self-regulation strategies as a class.

I do want to note that if a student has a diagnosed anxiety disorder, they may need extra accommodations, such as extra time, a quiet testing environment, or breaks. If you’re concerned about a particular student who doesn’t have a formal diagnosis, you may need to involve other stakeholders, such as their parents and/or school counselor. While adults know that mistakes are part of the learning process, your students’ perspective is skewed because their life experience is limited. That means you have an opportunity to do much more than teach them math — you can help them learn how to cope with stress and recover when they stumble. And you can remind them that you know they’re bright and capable regardless of the score they earn on a test.