Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do i
Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.” —William James, American philosopher and psychologist
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Define test anxiety
- Identify sources of test anxiety and techniques for preventing and controlling it
- Identify common types of tests given in a college class
- Describe the purpose of tests and what an instructor might expect to see from your work
- Identify strategies for answering typical kinds of test questions (multiple choice, listing, true/false, short answer, essay, and others)
- Identify test-taking strategies to improve your performance
Tests and Exams[1]
There are few words more familiar in academia than the word test. From early childhood until perhaps our advanced years, we engage with tests in countless ways—formally and informally, with anticipation and nerves. In this section we take a look at tests and exams more closely and try to demystify them.
Tests or “examinations” are assessments designed to gauge your knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors, and aptitudes. Below is a short list of some of the many tests you have likely taken:
- Spelling tests
- Reading tests
- Math tests
- Language tests
- Laboratory tests
- Typing tests
- Physical fitness tests
- Driving tests
- Intelligence tests
- Personality tests
- “Self” tests
- Standardized tests
- Placement tests
- Achievement tests
- College entrance tests!
Just imagine how many tests have you taken in your lifetime:
- In total, you may have taken an average of 113 standardized tests between pre-K and twelfth grade, according to the Council of the Great City Schools, which studied students in large urban districts.
- In the 2014–15 school year, 401 unique tests were administered across subjects in the 66 large urban school systems that the council studied.
You may feel as though you’ve already taken enough tests for a lifetime! But, for better or for worse, testing seems to be a fact of life, and it’s certainly a recurring feature of the college experience. So you’ll be in the best position for success if you can learn to take tests in stride and develop good test-taking skills.
As you’ll discover, a big part of doing well on tests is knowing what to expect and gearing up psychologically—that is, learning how to deal with test anxiety.
What Is Test Anxiety?
For many test takers, preparing for a test and taking a test can easily cause worry and anxiety. In fact, most students report that they are more stressed by tests and schoolwork than by anything else in their lives, according to the American Test Anxiety Association.[2]
- Roughly 16–20 percent of students have high test anxiety.
- Another 18 percent have moderately high test anxiety.
- Test anxiety is the most common academic impairment in grade school, high school, and college.
Test anxiety is “the set of phen