{"id":1496,"date":"2014-11-06T23:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=1496"},"modified":"2014-11-06T23:00:07","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T04:00:07","slug":"the-impacts-of-test-anxiety-on-students-and-how-to-handle-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2014\/11\/06\/the-impacts-of-test-anxiety-on-students-and-how-to-handle-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The impacts of Test Anxiety on Students and how to handle it"},"content":{"rendered":"

By LAURA HUMBLE –\u00a0STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When you sit down to take a test, do you experience nausea, sweating, trouble breathing, difficulty concentrating, or all of the above? If so, then you may suffer from text anxiety. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Test anxiety is a noted psychological condition in which an individual feels distressed before, during, or after taking a test, and often impacts how an individual performs on the test. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The causes of test anxiety are varied, including the individual\u2019s fear of failure, a history of poor test performance and\/or a lack of preparation that leaves the individual feeling overwhelmed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chances are either you or someone you know suffers from test anxiety. This condition is all too common on college campuses, especially colleges with high-stress environments such as Centre College.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we don\u2019t have any survey data to show how prevalent test anxiety is on our campus, we certainly have it, and believe it is more prevalent in first-year students who are still learning to adjust to the academic rigors of college life,\u201d Director of Counseling Services at Parsons Health Center Kathy Miles said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are good strategies to address test anxiety, and students can learn those and improve.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is not unusual for students to go to Parsons for counseling on their test anxiety. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents with test anxiety do come in to see a counselor in Counseling Services. We see a significant number each year who address this issue\u2014sometimes they only come in for this issue, and sometimes they come in for other issues, such as generalized anxiety,\u201d Miles said. \u201cOur two counselors in Counseling Services in Parsons are experienced in working with students with test and performance anxiety.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sophomore Andrea Marchyn is one of the many sufferers of test anxiety on Centre\u2019s campus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have test anxiety, I get jittery and can\u2019t focus. It will last all morning and [I] find myself having difficulty sleeping the night before. I suffer from anxiety when I take tests dealing with math because there is usually only one right answer and that can be nerve-wracking,\u201d Marchyn said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How does the stress of tests at Centre College negatively affect its students?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy test anxiety has definitely increased since coming to Centre. I never had test anxiety before, not even when taking an important test like the ACT,\u201d Marchyn said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely think test anxiety is a problem on Centre\u2019s campus. We are all under a lot of stress and held to a higher academic standard.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When asked how to combat test anxiety, Miles gave several examples of what students can do. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPrepare and study well for the test; get adequate sleep the night before; eat breakfast that morning; examine any negative [or] self-defeating thinking you have about your performance, such as catastrophizing, and change it to validating, encouraging and realistic thinking; check out your breathing as you go into a test\u2014do abdominal breathing to lower anxiety; practice meditation and mindfulness regularly\u2026; [and] review the entire test first,\u201d Miles said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI try to prepare and make sure I have time to eat breakfast\/lunch in a relaxed state before my test. I put away my notes five minutes before class to avoid the anxiety of trying to cram that last bit of knowledge in,\u201d Marchyn said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While students are the ones who suffer from test anxiety, professors see it in their classrooms every year. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy first year of teaching, I had a student who sat in the front of the room, particpated actively in class, knew the material, and she completely bombed the test,\u201d Professor of Chemistry Dr. Jennifer Muzyka said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While test anxiety can create a sense of isolation among students, professors are aware of the issue and have helped students in the past who deal with it. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy first piece of advice was I told her to quit studying up to the last minute before the test. I told her to relax for an hour and watch <\/span><\/span>The Price is Right<\/i><\/span><\/span>. Sure enough, on the next test she went from a \u2018D\u2019 to a \u2018B,\u2019\u201d Dr. Muzyka said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Dr. Muzyka, test anxiety is a common problem among her students, especially in classes like Organic Chemsitry.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven people that don\u2019t have test anxiety in other classes usually have it in my class,\u201d Dr. Muzyka said. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis class [Organic] is very important to their major, and I know that test anxiety can be crippling, even in a regular class.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Like Miles, Dr. Muzyka suggests the basics: a good night\u2019s sleep and time for the brain to unwind. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While faculty as a whole have not addressed the issue, it is something that the chemistry department has discussed. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve talked a lot with other chemists about the issue. It\u2019s so common among already stressed-out, pre-medical students here at Centre College,\u201d Dr. Muzyka said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel that you may suffer from test anxiety, practice any of the methods mentioned above, or visit a Parsons Counselor.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By LAURA HUMBLE –\u00a0STAFF WRITER When you sit down to take a test, do you experience nausea, sweating, trouble breathing, difficulty concentrating, or all of the above? If so, then you may suffer from text anxiety. Test anxiety is a noted psychological condition in which an individual feels distressed before, during, or after taking a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1496\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}