Experiencing anxiety before and during an exam is a normal and expected part of student life. As your body responds to the stress associated with test taking, you may become slightly more aroused and alert. Test anxiety occurs when you are so nervous about preparing or taking a test that you have difficulty planning, thinking, concentrating, recalling what you have studied, and relaxing. Test anxiety is not all bad. A little anxiety before and during a test may actually enhance your performance. We need a little anxiety to get us going. If we had no feelings of anxiety, we wouldn't care and we wouldn't get anything done. However, it is not good when we have so much anxiety that we set ourselves up for failure. Fear can be our enemy.

As anyone with significant test anxiety knows however, too much anxiety can sabotage your performance. Students with test anxiety often report difficulties with concentration, distractibility, and mental blocks, despite hours of exam preparation. They describe "knowing the material cold" the night before, only to find themselves "frozen" and unable to remember answers or respond during the actual exam. Bad exam experiences often compound the problem. Once a student "blocks" from anxiety during a test, s/he is likely to approach the next exam with even more anxiety. The presence of greater anxiety and pressure increases the likelihood that disabling test anxiety will recur. Once test anxiety occurs, it can become a vicious cycle, derailing satisfactory academic performance and grades despite the student's best efforts, ability, and motivation.

Fortunately, test anxiety can be helped, through a combination of improved study habits and test-taking skills, as well as practice with stress/anxiety management and coping strategies. If you are feeling anxious and are concerned that you may be experiencing test anxiety, listen to your body and figure out what you are feeling anxious about. If your anxiousness is a result of lack of preparation, then that is a rational response. If, however, you have adequately prepared for your exam and still feel panicky, your response may stem from something other than the testing situation itself.

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