1. + How To Reduce Test Anxiety By Nicole Clark

2. + What is Test Anxiety? Test anxiety is a form of an anxiety disorder Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone experiences at some time in their life Anxiety disorders are when anxiety reaches a level of constant worry, fear, and overwhelming. In this case it would be a constant worry and fear of test taking. Test anxiety can be so severe that it causes stomachaches, headaches, etc.

3. + What is the Impact of Test Anxiety? Test anxiety can impact many different areas such as: Grades Physiological distress Psychological distress It can be especially frustrating when students feel like they cannot succeed Test anxiety can also impact parents, when they are at a loss of what to do.

4. + Overview of Techniques There are many different options for treating and coping with test anxiety, this workshop will cover four major techniques The four major techniques are: Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Acceptance-Based Therapy Positive Emotions Self-Control Desensitization

5. + Cognitive – Behavior Therapy This therapy is based on the cognitive model: which links thoughts, emotions and behaviors (Brown et al. 2011) This theory explains that test anxiety is created by a revolving issue When a test is presented, anxious thoughts and physical reactions are developed. These then reinforce the anxiety feelings about taking a test

6. + Cognitive – Behavior Therapy This theory is attempting to break the cycle of anxiety Cognitive – behavior focuses on changing a person’s automatic thoughts and responses. This is accomplished by teaching people to use a thought record. Thought records are a set of examples of how to focus attention away from negative thoughts and physical reactions. Research has shown that the more people practice using the thought records, they were able to reduce their anxiety about test taking

7. + Example of a Thought Record

8. + Acceptance – Based Therapy This therapy was developed using psycho-educational and behavioral components that were created to target test anxiety The basis of this theory is the idea of willingness: Awareness: acknowledge the anxious thoughts and feelings Diffusion: create distance between the anxious thoughts and feelings Acceptance: accepting that the anxious feelings are ok and normal All three of these components let people focus their energy on taking the test, rather than worry about the anxiety they are experiencing

9. + Acceptance – Based Therapy Research has found this approach to treating test anxiety to be more beneficial for some, compared to cognitive based therapy The is because, this idea does not dismiss the anxiety. But instead it acknowledges it and allows the person to redirect that energy elsewhere. This approach might be easier for some, since there is less training on how to use it unlike, the thought records

10. + Power Of Positive Emotions This approach is not about changing a person’s negative thoughts Instead it is about promoting the positive thoughts and emotions This approach argues that emotions are stronger than thoughts, so this theory is based on controlling a person’s emotions about test anxiety

11. + Power Of Positive Emotions Researchers Nelson and Knight (2010) have found that students with positive emotions were able to score better on tests and reduce the amount of anxiety they felt This was accomplished by the participants in the study completing a writing task after being told about a pop quiz The writing task was either about their mourning routine (control) or a positive event (experimental) The participants that had the positive event writing, performed better on the test and had less anxiety The key part to is to be thinking of something positive before a stressful event such as a test

12. + Self Control Desensitization This technique emphasizes a person’s self control on handling with their anxiety and how they cope with their anxiety Self-control desensitization is used for targeting the specific anxiety-causing event and focusing on controlling the anxiety Such as for test anxiety, learning how to cope with the anxious thoughts, feelings and behaviors when presented with the test

13. + Self Control Desensitization Deffenbacher et al. (1980) studied the effects of desensitization on anxiety management Participants were given an anxiety survey before taking a test, then retested a week later after learning to use the desensitization technique The technique used, exposes the person with anxiety to the stressful event This allows them learn how to cope with the anxious thoughts and feelings, but also exposes them to the stressful event enough times By doing so people learn to cope with their anxious thoughts and feeling by repeated exposure and learning to using the technique

14. + Which One Is Right For You? There is no magic answer on which approach or theory is the best for treating test anxiety The best thing to do is to research each approach and choose one based on what is going to fit the individuals needs Although, research has found that acceptance-based therapy is more effective than cognitive –based therapy, but this may not be the best one for everyone

15. + How Can Parents Help? Parents should recognize when their students anxious feelings about taking a test is getting out of hand or debilitating Parents should do their own research about test anxiety Also parents can help their students learn to use the techniques to cope with anxiety Parents should also talk with their student and see if there is anything else that can be helpful

16. + Additional Resources Here are some places to go for some additional information: http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/test_anxiety. html http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/test- anxiety http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/solutions-for- stress/solutions-overcoming-test-anxiety.html