Tests and examinations are a source of anxiety to all of us. Feeling the pressure to ‘prove yourself’ always initiates a stress response; in fact it is this stress energy that actually enables us to succeed. However, the stress function works to a different extent in each of us, and many students find the stress prompted by examinations actually makes them less able to perform. In severe cases this can seriously affect their wellbeing, and even become a recurring mental health issue.
Young people today have good reason to feel pressured. They grow up in an education system that takes them through a series of tests from a very young age. In their later teens they become very aware that test results may dictate the course of their adult career. The pressure to get in to a good university, for example, can be overwhelming. This kind of stress can easily be present even without parental pressure, but many children today also find that their parents make the situation worse. The worst thing about this kind of anxiety is that it can corrupt the outcome of academic results and hide the real capabilities of the student, who might have proved themselves highly academically able without the pressure involved in the process.
A recent study performed by the Ottawa Public School System in Kansas looked further into this issue and explored what factors contribute to causing test anxiety. Results found that there was a correlation between anxiety and learning disorders. This suggests that children with special educational needs should be better prepared for examinations and taught coping strategies. Furthermore, it raises the question that test anxiety could become a learning disorder in its own right.
The problem of test anxiety could be helped if all children were given more emotional preparation for examinations. A suitable personal-social syllabus would include time management skills, test preparation habits, revision techniques and even perhaps basic meditation techniques to focus the mind. Education is highly important in life, but success should never be sought at the cost of the student’s emotional wellness. It should not be thought of as merely academic; but also help to form positive habits that will last a lifetime.
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