How To Help Your Child Overcome Test Anxiety and Do Better on Tests.
Taking a test isn't the end of the world, though for many children it might feel that way. Some children can feel so much anxiety at test taking time, that it can actually bring about physical symptoms such as butterflies in their stomach, nausea, clammy hands, or feeling faint. Some have even reported feeling like they want to cry or leave the room without taking the test at all.
While it might not be uncommon for children to suffer from text anxiety, there are quite a few things you can do to lessen it or prevent it.
What You Can Do
Don't overemphasize the actual grades emphasize the effort.
The plain simple fact is, learning comes easier to some children than others.
While one child can get an "A" by barely cracking a book, another could study all week and still do no better than a "B". Praise your child for the effort you see them putting in. Encourage them and offer them little rewards when you see them doing their best. Let them want to earn their "A" for their own reasons, not due to fear of not meeting your expectations.
Prepare them on a daily basis.
Be sure they consistently complete assignments and homework. A child who keeps up with their school work daily will absorb more than in a last minute cramming session when anxious.
Practice Exams I personally found this to be one of the best ways to get my son confident about test taking. At least once a week (sometimes more), I would type up examples right from his text books and give him practice exams at home. I would duplicate the circumstances as closely as possible as if he were taking a real test in school. Sit him comfortably at a desk or the kitchen table, pencil in hand. No television, talking on the phone or noise in the background. If he got stuck on an answer I would show him how to skip that one without worry and simply move on the next question. I would show him how to stay calm if he started to get frustrated. I would praise him on how well he was doing; praise how much better each test grade was, etc. Believe it or not, he eventually started asking me to type up more practice tests because he ended up loving the praise and extra attention he was getting from Mom. His confidence grew with each 100% he got at home and he started to actually look forward to taking tests at school.
Help Change Your Child's Negative Thoughts
Anxious children tend to have negative thoughts such as "I hate tests!" "I always fail" etc. Gently help them to change those negative thoughts to more positive ones such as "The more tests I take the better I get at them" or "I always do better on tests that I study for". This can help greatly in reducing their anxiety on test day.
Meditating and Visualization
Deep breathing exercises and mentally visualizing doing well on a test can also work wonders for a child with test anxiety.
Show them how to do deep breathing exercises the few minutes before a test is given. Tell them to imagine that "they are breathing in calm, and breathing out stress". Practice with them at home. Do it along with them so they understand how it works.
Mentally visualizing being calm during a test can help as well. Have them close their eyes and imagine that they are at their desk in school taking the test. Tell them to "see" themselves as being perfectly calm and confident. While their eyes are closed gently walk them through it. Say things like "You are sitting at your desk and you are perfectly calm. You read the first question and you know the answer easily. You read the second question and you know the answer easily. You are completely relaxed." Done often enough at home, the child will automatically start feeling calmer at actual test time.
Start "Test Day" Right
Making sure they get enough sleep the night before, have a healthy hearty breakfast and get to school on time are the three most important things you can do for your child on actual test day. Being tired, hungry or late are stressful distractions they do not need and can actually make their anxiety worse.
Make the morning as calm as possible. Be sure they have everything they need for their test in their backpacks the night before, such as pencils, paper, calculator, etc., so there is no last minute rushing around in the morning.
What You Shouldn't Do
Don't overemphasize grades or add undue pressure. As mentioned above, this will just increase a child's anxiety or worry about not doing well.
Don't be impatient or act like their fear is ridiculous. Don't say things like "Oh, just go take the test already and get it over with" or "Just stop worrying about it, you'll do fine." This will be of no help to the child and they actually might resent that kind of response because now they feel silly as well as anxious.
Don't ignore the problem hoping it will go away or get better on it own. If the problem isn't addressed early on, the situation could actually become worse. As one bad test experience turns into two, then into three, a child's anxiety level when test taking can escalate to the point where they are barely able to take a test at all.
Don't let them avoid it by staying home. As tempted as a parent might be to just let them skip the test altogether because of their anxiety, it is obvious that this is not a good solution because tests don't go away. Anxious children need solutions that will make test taking easier, not in finding creative ways avoid them.
Practicing some of these techniques and having patience with your child will have them doing better on tests in no time.