Testing times

Testing and examinations are a fact of school life, yet on occasion, despite the best intentions of teachers to safeguard pupils from unnecessary negative stress, some succumb to the pressures of the moment. Seeing a child become fraught with exam nerves and anxiety can be soul-destroying for a teacher, but there are some steps you can take to minimise their stress and produce the performance they deserve.

While many children will be able to take testing and all it entails in their stride, there will be some for whom the whole experience is daunting and frightening. It is these children that need particular nurturing around assessment time.

The run-up to tests and exams

For children of any age, the weeks and days running up to a big test or exam are when most progress on building confidence and self-esteem can be made. These ideas may help:

• At least once in the morning and once in the afternoon, encourage pupils to sit quietly as a group and listen to you as you give plenty of positive reinforcement about their skills and abilities.
• Ask individual pupils who appear to be struggling with the idea of imminent tests to write down or tell you their worst fears about them. As well as responding to these on a one-to-one basis, use these fears as a basis for discussion when talking to the class as a whole about exams as it is likely that others in the group are harbouring similar fears.
• Remember that just a quick sentence or two to individuals or the whole group throughout the day can focus pupils’ minds on their abilities rather than their fears.

Teachers cannot be responsible for the time that pupils go to bed, the food they eat and the level of encouragement that they receive when they leave the school each afternoon, but they can have an influence, especially on the older pupils.

• Remind pupils regularly how important sleep is to help them stay alert and deal with the pressures on them in a balanced way.  Encourage early nights.
• Explain that when pupils are thirsty, the best thing they can drink is water. Keeping the body hydrated will enable it to function at optimum levels.
• Encourage pupils to eat regularly to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
• Explain to pupils that if they can do something physically active in between revision sessions they’ll be able to take more in.

During exam time

This is when waves of anxiety can sweep across whole classes, drawing in even those who have previously managed to stay positive. Teachers can help to prevent this from happening:

• Play ambient music when tests are not in progress. Make sure that the number of beats per minute is low as research has shown that the listener’s heart-rate can fall in line with the music beats. Too fast and you risk exciting pupils further.
• Be aware of your tone of voice when talking to pupils. Keeping the volume as low as possible and the pace of speech even will further relax pupils. Raise your voice only when absolutely necessary.
• Before pupils are dismissed at the end of the day give pupils the opportunity to leave anxieties with you rather than taking them home.
• Encourage pupils to focus on their breathing just before they take a tests and exams. Slow, deep breaths will calm nervous minds.
• Pay attention to the air quality in the room where tests are taking place. Keep the air fresh and make sure that any electrical equipment (such as computers that aren’t needed) is turned off.
• Take time to talk to pupils about things that are nothing to do with the exams. What else is going on in their lives and in the life of the school? When you sense that they are feverish about discussing the tests, change the subject and lighten the atmosphere.
• Give pupils ‘treats’ when exams are over. However small these may be, they will have a sense of reward. Perhaps invite them to choose some music to listen to or to spend time doing an activity that you know they will enjoy.
• Flowers in the classroom, or at least pictures of natural scenes have been shown to calm emotions in schools that have tried this. If possible, make sure that the room in which pupils are taking tests has either flowers or scenic pictures within the line of vision of the children.           

Above all, one of the most effective methods of containing anxiety about all types of testing is to help pupils to maintain a balanced perspective on the process. They will take their lead in part from you, their teacher, and a repetitive focus on the positive achievements of each child and of the group as a whole can only serve to ease any panic that might be rising.

Originally published on Teachernet