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When Your Stress Level is Sorely Tested:
It might have begun
with your first spelling test in second grade. Your stomach became
queasy as you tried to recall all the right letters. You might have
felt your heart pounding and your knuckles turned white. Your head
might have hurt as you tried in vain to concentrate. When you received
a “D” on the test, your stress level only intensified.
You automatically viewed yourself as a failure.
By the time it came to the SATs,
you had been through years of test-taking. Yet, when the moment of
truth arrived, you found yourself biting the eraser on your pencil
incessantly. You found your eyes couldn’t quite focus, and your
attention span seemed non-existent. As a result of such reactions,
you find yourself taking the SATs again and again, without appreciably
improving your score.
There can be little doubt that taking
a test is a highly stressful experience, no matter what your age.
A test can determine whether you advance to the next grade…whether
you’ll graduate from high school…whether you’ll
get into college. Because education is so critical to professional
and financial advancement, a test can be either the door to prosperity…or
the roadblock to success.
You have to realize that you’ll
always be undergoing some stress when you take a test. However, there
are ways that you can minimize the amount of stress you feel. For
instance, you might take a course in how to prepare for tests. This
is especially important for taking the SATs and ACTs. There are certain
strategies you can use—such as answering the easiest questions
first, learning to pace yourself, not panicking at the first question
you don’t know the answer to. These strategies can help you
no matter what kind of a test you are taking.
Another technique that has proven
effective with many students is to take practice tests in anticipation
of your exam. While the questions you face on your actual exam will
not be the same as the sample questions, they should prove to be similar.
In this way, you can prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for
your exam.
Yet another important strategy to
use is to make sure that you get plenty of rest the night before a
test. Fatigue can sap your strength, causing you to lose your concentration.
If you are tired, you are also likely to become frustrated as you
go about your test. The more frustrated you are, the worse your score
is likely to be. Making sure that you get a good night’s sleep
the night before can improve your outlook immeasurably, giving you
the positive attitude you need in order to succeed.
Likewise, it is important that you
get appropriate nutrition. Sugary snacks can actually deplete your
energy, making it harder for you to concentrate. They can also add
significantly to your stress level. By eating a sensible diet of fruits,
vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, you can prepare yourself
physically for the challenge of test-taking.
Another successful strategy can be
to employ a tutor to assist you with your studying. A tutor helps
you to focus and can help to improve your study habits. The tutor
can also instill a certain measure of discipline in your preparations.
With your tutor’s support, you should feel more confident and
better able to handle the stress of test-taking.
In a similar vein, consider trying
to find a mentor. A mentor can act as a coach, helping to build your
self-esteem. You can learn a great deal from a mentor’s career.
He or she can share the strategies used in order to climb the ladder
of success. You might find your stress level decreasing significantly
with a mentor on your side.
Test-taking is a skill which can
be learned. Knowing this fact should help to ease your stress. With
time and patience, you can learn to take tests as a pro. Recognize,
however, that at times you might not be able to perform as you would
wish. While you might encounter setbacks along the way, you have to
realize that it takes dedication to reach your ultimate goal. With
a good preparation plan in place, you can master the art of taking
tests—and your anxiety should slowly disappear.
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