It’s the first Honors Algebra 2 Test of the year.  Chills run down sophomore Ava Schmidt’s back. She’s sweating. Her asthma begins to act up. Her head is pounding. All are symptoms of test anxiety.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety where students respond to a fear of failure, lack of preparation and/or poor test history with a variation of physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms.

A Personal Experience with Test Anxiety

“The pressure to get good grades [triggers her anxiety] because you know you have to get good grades to get into a good college,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said she has been suffering from test anxiety since the eighth grade when higher level thinking questions started to appear on tests. Her anxiety varies depending on the subject, ranging from borderline tears in math class to complete comfort in language arts.

To accommodate for her anxiety, Schmidt said she often asks teachers, particularly in math, if she can take her test in the hall or the AC Lab.

“The noise from everyone getting up and turning in their tests and all that was really stressing me out,” Schmidt said, “so I’d go outside in the hall or AC Lab and do my test where it was nice and quiet, and then a lot of times I found I could concentrate better.”

Despite being nervous when taking a test, Schmidt said she frequently performs in plays and musicals but doesn’t feel nervous while onstage.

“I just find performing comes more naturally for me whereas math doesn’t,” Schmidt said.

Types of Performance Anxiety

When most people talk about test anxiety, they’re usually referring to trait anxiety, meaning the student feels anxious during all academic evaluations, Dr. Gerado Ramirez, professor of psychology at University of California Los Angeles, said.

However, some students don’t always respond negatively to tests; certain exams might just be particularly stressful. This is called state anxiety.

Dr. Ramirez said most people who suffer from test anxiety also become anxious in other evaluative situations, like sports.

“The reason why people perform poorly on academic tests is because they’re worried, so their attention is divided, whereas the reason why people perform poorly in sports is actually ironically the opposite,” Dr. Ramirez said. “It’s because people pay too much attention.”

Students who are motivated to succeed by a need to show competency, whether they want to impress their teachers, parents or friends, are more likely to acquire test anxiety than people who are purely motivated by mastering a concept, Dr. Ramirez said.

Treatment for Test Anxiety

Dr. Ramirez said teachers can help students who suffer from test anxiety by, ironically, giving more tests.

“I think the more high-stakes the test is, if 50 percent of your grade is one test, the more stressed out students are going to be,” Dr. Ramirez said. “A lot of studies have shown that giving more tests helps students learn better.”

Although test anxiety has not been characterized as a clinical disorder, some people may benefit from visiting a counselor, Dr. Ramirez said.

“Traditionally, it’s not seen as something that is psychologically debilitating beyond the evaluative situation,” Dr. Ramirez said.

One of the first steps students can take to combat their test anxiety is good preparation, social worker Brenda Casey said. Different studying strategies work well for different people, so students should find one that works for them.

To help lessen the severity of their test anxiety, students should eat food with good nutritional value, wear appropriate clothing and evaluate what spot in the room most helps them focus.

“Some students do best if they are at the very front of the room, because they’re not seeing everything that’s going on,” Casey said. “Some people just get chills during an exam, so they need to make sure that they’re dressed appropriately. Some people get hot and sweaty because of anxiety, so they have to make sure they have clothes that can take layers off.”

Feeling nervous for an exam can have a positive impact on performance, Casey said. A little stress can give students the push to work a little harder, to study a little longer.

However, if that stress starts to cause physical symptoms—headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, sweating, chills and a rapid heartbeat—students should speak with their teacher, counselor or doctor about how to help lessen their anxiety.

“There are people who have real test anxiety who just draw a blank,” Casey said. “Even though they may have prepared really well, it just doesn’t come to them, and that’s real test anxiety. Often times, their grade reflects it.”