Test anxiety isn’t uncommon but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. When it’s time to take a test, you might have millions of thoughts going through your mind at one time, making it difficult for you to focus. We’ve gathered test-taking tips from experts to help you minimize your anxiety when it’s time to take your driving test.
What is Text Anxiety?
Test anxiety is considered a psychological condition that causes individuals to experience distress and anxiety during a test. Although experiencing stress before a test is normal, in extreme cases of test anxiety, a person’s learning and performance can be greatly impaired.
3 Factors That Contribute to Test Anxiety
There are a few different factors that can contribute to test anxiety and the strategies that work best for you to help you focus and complete a test.
1. Behavioral Factors
Behavioral factors, such as lack of preparation, procrastination, and negative self-belief don’t help your test anxiety. Failure to properly prepare for a test increases anxiety during the test. If you delay studying, your stress will likely increase when it’s time to complete the test. Negative self-belief hurts your ability to do well on the test and makes your anxiety worse.
2. Biological Factors
The way your body responds to stress plays a significant role in test anxiety. If your body goes into overdrive when you’re stressed, your anxiety levels will skyrocket, which can hinder your concentration during a test.
3. Psychological Factors
Factors such as fear of failure can cause severe anxiety, especially when you’re taking a test. If you have a poor performance history, such as failing a previous test, you may experience more anxiety on the current test and future tests.
What Strategies Can Help With Test Anxiety?
There are different strategies you can use to mitigate test anxiety. Some or all of these strategies may work well for you, but you’ll have to try each strategy to learn what strategy works best.
Review the Material
If you have a study guide, use it! Continue to review the material until you’re confident that you know it. Although you may still experience some anxiety before taking the test, studying is one of the best ways to succeed. Studying is a great way to review what you’ve learned and determine the areas you need to work on.
Remembering information takes time, so start studying as soon as you are informed about the test. Take notes from the material you read and create a study guide. There are also practice tests available online to help you prepare for your road test.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential for success. Being tired can make you irritable and frustrated, which doesn’t help with your anxiety. Make sure you get an adequate amount of sleep for the test. When you feel refreshed, you can focus a lot easier than if you stayed up all night worrying about the test. You need at least 7 hours of sleep the night before the test. When you get enough sleep, you can think clearer, and being able to focus will be easier.
Limit Your Caffeine Consumption
Caffeine may be great for helping you stay awake, but you should avoid caffeine before completing your test. Excessive caffeine consumption can worsen your anxiety and make it difficult for you to sit still and focus. If you want a drink before your test, drink water or herbal tea.
Arrive at Your Testing Destination Early
Arriving at the testing location early gives you time to gather your thoughts and prepare for the test. Last-minute stress is normal, but arriving early gives you time to get settled and clear your mind before attempting to complete the test. When you arrive early, you can use the extra time to organize everything you need to complete the test.
Start with the Easy Questions
This strategy may sound weird, but it works. Starting with the easy questions builds your confidence and momentum. You should never rush to complete a test, but answering the easy questions first gives you time to go back and answer the more difficult questions. Also, answering questions that you know the answer to can help alleviate your anxiety.
Focus on One Section at a Time
If the test has more than one section, break up the material into smaller chapters so you won’t become overwhelmed. Focus on one section at a time, and don’t try to rush through the material. Give yourself enough time to read the question and comprehend what you’ve read before providing an answer.
Don’t Overthink
Having test anxiety means it’s easy for you to overthink a lot of things, and before you know it, you’ve spent at least 5 minutes contemplating “what ifs”. Try to maintain your perspective by avoiding catastrophic thinking. Even if you’re unsure of the answer to a particular question, you can still be successful on the test.
Take a Deep Breath
Practicing deep breathing during your test can help calm your mind and body, helping you to relax. To take a deep breath, inhale deeply from your stomach and exhale slowly. You can take more than one deep breath to help you relax and focus better.
Avoid Cramming
Cramming is when you try to study as much as possible and remember as much information as you can the night before the test. While cramming may sound like a reasonable test-taking strategy, it can do more harm than good. Cramming is counterproductive and you’re less likely to remember the information you need to pass the test. Cramming is also a last-minute technique that occurs because you didn’t use your time wisely.
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Eating a healthy breakfast before your test, like sleeping, is an essential part of self-care and a great way to prepare for the test. Concentrating on a test is difficult when you’re hungry. It’s a good idea to wake up 10 to 15 minutes early so you can enjoy a good breakfast without having to rush.
Choose foods that will help with satiety and won’t make you feel slow and sluggish. The following foods can help you get the best start to a good day:
- Eggs
- Oatmeal
- Whole wheat cereal
- Nuts
- Berries
You should keep your dietary requirements in mind when you’re planning a wholesome breakfast. Avoid foods that are high in sugar. A sugar rush will feel like you’re on top of the world for a few minutes, but after the sugar wears off, your energy will be depleted and you will feel more tired than usual. Don’t forget to drink water!
Work on Developing Positive Habits
Positive habits affect your mood and how you feel about yourself overall. When you are confident in yourself, you can’t help but have a positive outlook on your day, which is great when you have to prepare for a test!
Having a positive mindset also helps you deal with negative thinking. Negative thoughts can affect your ability to focus, which can affect your test scores. You can encourage positive thoughts by listening to your favorite songs before taking the test or going for a short walk to clear your mind.
Listen to the Instructions
Before the road test, you will be given instructions. Listen to the instructions and ask questions if needed at this time. You won’t be able to ask questions or get assistance during the test. You will be given details about the test, such as the amount of time you have to complete the test, grading techniques, the minimum score you can have to pass the test, and other factors that contribute to completing the test.
Read the Entire Test
Before you start marking answers, read the entire test. Take 5 minutes to look at the test questions and process the information. Reviewing the test will help you understand the structure of the test and help you determine the best strategy you should use to complete it.
Answer the Questions You Skipped
Don’t forget about the hard questions you may have skipped! It’s a good practice to check your test at least twice to ensure you’ve answered every question. If you missed some questions, answer them as you find them.
Once you’ve answered all the questions on the test, check again to ensure you’ve provided an answer for each question. You may realize you know the answers to some of the questions you skipped by answering other test questions beforehand. Some of the questions may still be difficult when you go back to answer them, and that’s okay. Answer these questions to the best of your ability.
Use Your Time Wisely
Make sure you use your time wisely. Don’t pressure yourself to complete the test in an unreasonable amount of time. However long you have to complete the test, use that time to make sure you’ve answered every question.
How to Cope with Test-Taking Anxiety
Knowing how to cope with any type of anxiety can help you remain calm during stressful situations. Here are 4 ways you can better deal with test-taking anxiety.
1. Try Different Calming Techniques
Remaining calm can be difficult when you have a lot of thoughts going through your mind, especially right before a test. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, take a few minutes to take a deep breath and gather yourself. Clear your mind as much as possible before attempting to complete the test. If you can, take a stretch break and see if you can get rid of some of your anxiety.
2. Don’t Give in to Negative Thoughts
It’s easy to allow your negative thoughts to get to you, but don’t! As soon as you realize you’re having a negative thought, counter that thought with one that is positive. When your brain is caught in a negative cycle, it can be difficult to think of things that are positive, but it’s not impossible. If you’re stressed about the test, think of the good outcomes that can happen, such as passing the test. Think of things that motivate you and use that as fuel to power your brain.
3. Consider Your Mistakes a Learning Opportunity
If you don’t pass the road test on your first attempt, don’t let it get you down. Use this moment as a learning opportunity. It’s not too difficult to worry about not passing the test and harping on it for a while, but again, don’t let the negative thoughts get the best of you! Instead of giving in to negative thought patterns, remind yourself that it’s okay to make mistakes, and a few wrong answers on a test is your opportunity to ace the test the next time you take it.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Put Your Best Foot Forward
Putting your best foot forward can mean more than one thing. For example, studying more is one way to put your best foot forward. The good news is you don’t have to worry about studying new information. This is the best time to make flashcards to determine what you know and study what you don’t know.
You can also ask your friends and relatives for help. They may have different studying techniques that can help you pass your road test. There are different practice tests available online that you can use to help you better prepare for the test. You can use the information from these online tests to create your test and practice.
Learning to Study Efficiently
Learning to study efficiently can be a game changer for you. The goal of learning how to study is to study smarter, not harder. Developing efficient study techniques are skills you can use for the rest of your life! Let’s talk about efficient study tips.
Get Organized
Being organized helps you complete assignments and tests. You should start studying at least one week before your test. Take notes and review them each day. Keep your notes and other materials you need to complete the test together in one place, this way you won’t have to scramble to get everything organized the night before the test. When you’re organized, you won’t have as much anxiety to deal with.
Pay Attention
If you’re a teenager receiving their permit or you’re currently in Driver’s Education (Driver’s Ed), pay attention in class. Everything you discuss in class can help you pass your driving test. This is the perfect opportunity to take notes and review the information each day to help you remember information.
Avoid Distractions
You should avoid distractions at all costs. You need to focus to ensure you know what to study, and what’s required of you when you take your test. Playing games on your phone, texting, and similar instances are distractions, and they prevent you from focusing. Work on identifying things that distract you and find a way to avoid them.
Ensure Your Notes Are Complete
When you’re taking notes, make sure they are complete. What are complete notes? Complete notes are ones that give you specific information and general information, such as statistics. Complete notes can also be writing things down that you know you will have trouble remembering. Taking these types of notes can help you process the information you’re learning, and they make awesome study guides! If you miss class, talk with your instructor about work that may have been provided that you missed, so you can use it to improve your test score.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
If you don’t understand the information you’re being told or shown, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t feel comfortable asking for clarification in front of other students? No worries. Talk to your teacher after class. Your teacher may be able to help you better understand the information she’s teaching and provide more resources or tools to help you along the way.
Create a Study Plan
Planning is an underrated skill! Planning can help you decrease your anxiety levels and provide peace of mind. Your study plan should have a study schedule, a list of the tools you need, and the information you need to learn. Planning is a part of being prepared, and when it’s test time, you’ll be glad you did.
It will help to think about the kinds of questions you’ll be asked on the test. In this scenario, you’ll be asked about traffic laws and rules, traffic signs, and basic car operations. You’ll also need to know the proper protocol for driving in inclement weather.
The key to success when taking a test is to not get overwhelmed. Divide the test topics into sections, and study one section each day. The night before the test, review everything on the test. It may not hurt to review the morning of the test to refresh the information you already know in your mind.
Talk to Your Teacher
Talking to your teacher can be valuable! Your teacher has experience and knows a lot about the testing procedures. Teachers can give you a general idea of what to expect on the test and help you prepare. You can also use the information they give you to help create the structure of your study plan.
Pick a Study Area
Studying is not solely about what you know, it’s also about where you learn it. Find a quiet area to study. It could be a location that’s indoors or outdoors, or anywhere else! Make sure the place you choose to study promotes a positive learning environment. There shouldn’t be too many things around that will distract you. Everyone has different study needs, so make sure the spot you choose suits you.
Study in Short Intervals
Studying for hours at a time may not be the best approach for you, and that’s okay. You can study often, but in short bursts so you won’t become tired or overwhelmed. You can study for 30 minutes and take a break so you can recharge your mind.
Simplify Your Notes
Your notes will help you ace the exam, so make sure you understand what you’re writing. Studying can be a lot less complicated when you simplify your notes. Condensing your notes is also a good way to review what you’ve learned. Take your time and highlight and underline statistics and other information that you may need to remember better.
Take Advantage of Group Studying
If you don’t want to study alone, why not study with a group of friends? When you study with friends, you can engage more and everyone benefits from the interactive environment, helping everyone stay focused. Studying with at least one other person, you can quiz each other, boost each other’s confidence, and have fun while learning.
Taking a test doesn’t have to be a horrible experience. Give these testing tips a try to help with your anxiety and never give up. You’ve got this! Happy studying and good luck on your test!