Actually, a certain amount of anxiety is useful and appropriate before a test. Even though a student has kept up with assignments, studied regularly, and is prepared for a test, it is still reasonable that the student may feel some anxiety. The feeling is likely to keep the student sharp and attentive during the test situation. People in many occupations, such as actors, speak of a sense of jitters before a key performance. And their ability to overcome this momentary uneasiness signals that they are professionals and on top of their game.

However, if anxiety is so great that it affects a student physically and hinders the ability to perform on a test, then it might warrant professional attention. Someone who has kept up with assignments, distributed study time, and has shown that he or she knows the material, by perhaps accurately describing a chemical reaction to a classmate or correctly solving a math problem when in the library, might have a serious anxiety disorder.

These serious anxiety disorders are beyond the scope of a study skills workshop and the individual might want to consult with a counselor in Room W2-3.

While test anxiety in college is probably best handled by a trained and competent faculty or staff member, it might be helpful to get more information on this disability. Listed below is a selected list of websites which might be informative.

• Test Anxiety Scale

• Managing Test Anxiety from the University of Western Ontario

• Overcoming Test Anxiety from the University of Florida

• Test Anxiety: Causes, Symptoms, Effects and Reduction Techniques from State University of New York at Buffalo

• Test Anxiety from Canisius College

• Dealing with Test Anxiety from Pennsylvania College of Technology

• Test Anxiety faced by College Students by Debrina Clay, a student at Mississippi State University

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Maintained by Dr. Jay Howard, Professor, Learning Lab · Last updated:Jan 2005