What Really Causes Test Anxiety?

Whether it’s elementary standardized tests or college exams (or anything in between), test anxiety is a very real thing for a lot of students. They feel confident with the information. They do the work of studying. But when it comes to test day, it all goes out the window. They get nervous, they rush without really thinking, or they just plain forget everything they’ve been learning and grades suffer.

Instead of just accommodating this struggle with retakes, taking tests orally, or removing them to a quiet place to complete the test, what if you could really dive in and strengthen the skills that your brain uses? 

What if instead of accommodating this struggle, you were able to weed it out to help them become more successful in any situation?

This only happens by starting at the root cause.

So What Really Causes Test Anxiety?

In virtually every case, it is weak cognitive skills.

Skills like attention, working memory, processing speed, logic & reasoning, and long-term memory all have a critical role in your ability to take a test. Here’s what this looks like:

Attention is your ability to tune out distractions, stay focused for any length of time, or handle multiple stimuli at once. Kids who struggle with attention often:

• Get easily distracted in classroom environments
• Struggle to keep the same level of focus for the duration of a test
• Or get easily overwhelmed by test scenarios.

Working memory is the skill your brain uses to hold onto information long enough to use it. In testing environments, weakness in this area can look like:

• Struggling to remember what they’ve read
• Frequently re-reading questions
• Ask for repeated instructions
• Losing their place or skipping around, meaning they often miss important things

Processing speed is just what it sounds like: how quickly your brain processes information. If there’s a lag between taking in info and using it, or if it takes a long time to process what you read, it will greatly impact test performance. Individuals with low processing speed often struggle in tests with things like:

• Needing extra time to finish a test
• Getting to the point that they’re just guessing instead of really trying to figure out the answers
• Frequently freezing or feeling stuck in the middle of a test

Logic & reasoning skills dictate how your brain approaches a problem. Do you know what to do next, or do you need constant redirection? If you don’t immediately know the answer, do you know how to figure it out? Kids who struggle with logic & reasoning often do poorly in math or tests that require longer responses, but it also impacts multiple choice tests. 

Long-term memory is your ability to efficiently store and recall information when it’s needed. If this skill is weak, your child may just simply not remember what they’ve learned so no matter how you accommodate them, they will continue to struggle on test day.

How Can You Make Test-Taking Easier?

Appropriate study strategies, quality sleep, and effective classroom instruction are all vital for test performance. But what do you do when you’re doing everything “right” and are still struggling so much?

Instead of leaving it as a last-ditch effort, strengthening cognitive skills FIRST is a critical step to improving the way your brain interacts with the world, including in test-taking.

You can get a quick look into which cognitive skill is making testing hard for your child with this FREE brain skills quiz! Or click here to learn about our targeted brain training program options for all ages.