“One of the best ways to be bad at something is to tell yourself that you are bad at it” (Holmes, 2021, p. 293). This applies to students who believe they can’t take tests. “Despite the prevalence of the bad test-taker as part of the
New findings about test anxiety are providing a more nuanced understanding of how it affects performance on exams. So far, the response to students overly anxious about exams has been encouragement: “calm down” and “get yourself under control.” That’s been the advice offered by teachers
In a 1992 article in College Teaching, authors Mealy and Host identify three types of students who report high levels of anxiety during exams; those who lack adequate study skills, those who can study but are easily distracted during an exam, and students who mistakenly
There hasn’t been a lot written recently about test anxiety, but that doesn’t mean it’s no longer an issue for a significant number of students. Those of us who don’t suffer from test anxiety—and I’m betting that’s most faculty—can find it hard to be sympathetic.
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