Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Test?
Does your child seem to know the school material before an important exam, and then go blank or get confused on the exam? Does it happen over and over? If so, your child has a test anxiety impairment.
My youngster would show her small circle of friends how to work the algebra problems an hour before the test, and then fail the test herself while her friends went on to pass it.
High test anxiety is more than mildly unpleasant. It can wash out your memory and fog your reasoning. What your child knows the hour before the test fades out during the test, leaving her to wrestle with questions with the answers just out of reach. And then it all comes back the next hour, when it is too late.
How can pick out test anxiety problems from the various other problems. Is you child simply not applying herself? Is she already functioning at the top of her abilities?
Look at the contrast between performance under pressure and performance in more casual situations. So far as your child shows a reasonably good grasp of the materials at home but then fails to produce on tests, suspect excessive test anxiety.
Is your youngster test anxious>
Does your child have a high test anxiety impairment?
Have your youngster take a brief Test Anxiety Scale