Helping Students Cope with Test Anxiety. ERIC Digest

One of the most threatening events that causes anxiety in students today is testing. When students develop an extreme fear of performing poorly on an examination, they experience test anxiety. Test anxiety is a major factor contributing to a variety of negative outcomes including psychological distress, academic underachievement, academic failure, and insecurity. Many students have the cognitive ability to do well on exams but may not do so because of high levels of test anxiety. Because of the societal emphasis placed on testing, this could potentially limit their educational and vocational opportunities. This digest highlights characteristics of test anxiety and provides suggestions for administrators, teachers, and school counselors to help students overcome test anxiety. (GCP)