Conquering Test Anxiety: A Growth Mindset Game Plan

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“I just have test anxiety,” a student tried to explain after receiving a C minus on the first test of the semester. Shaking her head in defeat, she concluded, “I never do well on tests.”

In recent years, test anxiety has become a thing (Lovett et al., 2024; Sawchuk, 2024). In a 2022 survey of 54,000 undergraduate college students, a shocking 77% reported experiencing moderate to severe psychological distress (College Transitions, 2024). As a result of such statistics, some experts have advocated for protecting students from the test-taking experience by offering alternatives such as group projects and presentations (Coates, 2024). This trend has rapidly extended from the classroom level to the institutional level. As of the 2023-2024 academic year, 83% of four-year colleges and universities in the United States had adopted ACT/SAT-optional admissions practices (Nietzel, 2023), relying instead on things like high school GPA and personal essays to determine prospective students’ likelihood of success in college.

Fixed Versus Growth Mindset

But allowing test anxiety to become a perpetual excuse for poor testing performance signals faulty reasoning and activates self-fulfilling prophecy. Settling for “I’m just not good at taking tests (or doing math or giving speeches)” is evidence of a fixed mindset, defined by Dweck (2015) as the belief that intelligence is limited by genetics. When a person becomes convinced that they can’t do something, it is almost guaranteed that they won’t be able to do it. This is a weak position for any college student to occupy – and an irresponsible position for college instructors to endorse.

A growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that intelligence can be developed throughout one’s lifetime (Dweck, 2015). Put another way, practice makes perfect. Maier and colleagues (2021) found that the greater a student’s self-efficacy, the lower their test anxiety. Claybourn (2023) asserts, “Some stress can be healthy and motivate students to be productive, but preventing it from becoming overwhelming requires a game plan” (para. 6). Helping students develop a game plan is exactly where we, as college instructors, can help students conquer test anxiety as opposed to enabling it.

But first, a few examples. Does anyone remember their first kiss? Driving a car for the first time? Answering questions during an important job interview? There are times in life when we are anxious, but we deal with our anxiety in order to accomplish a goal or desire. When we are motivated toward something, we prepare, we practice, we rehearse. We take risks. We are open to feedback. And when we don’t succeed the first time, we try again, learning from our mistakes. Admittedly, taking a test is not half as motivating as kissing someone, but the concept is similar. If you want to pass a course – and if you want to pass with an A or B – you need to make an effort. You will have to take risks. You must be open to feedback. And if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Help Students Develop a Growth Mindset Game Plan

So, how can we help our students conquer test anxiety? It begins on the first day of class.

  1. When you review the course syllabus for the first time, let students know exactly when they will be taking each test or quiz along with the general content (e.g., chapters 1-4) they will be expected to know, understand, or demonstrate at that point in time. Reassure students from the beginning that the information they will be tested on will come directly from required course readings, class activities, and assignments – and be sure to make that happen.
  2. In preparation for class, students should closely read the assigned readings – possibly more than once.
  3. During class time, students should actively listen, take notes, participate in discussions and activities, and ask questions.
  4. Following class, students should review notes, presentation slides, handouts, and other information.
  5. Following each class session, or at least once a week, summarize the content covered and suggest what students should be doing to master the content in preparation for the test.
  6. At least two weeks prior to each test (ideally sooner), provide students with a test-specific study guide that transparently lists everything students must know and be able to do in order to perform well on the test.
  7. In preparation for the test, students should use the study guide as a tool for reviewing and reinforcing knowledge and understanding of the course content.

Show Students How to Study

As each test date draws near, spend some time in class showing (and later in the semester, reminding) students how to study.

  1. Students should use the course study guide to prepare a customized study guide by re-wording each item on the guide into a question. Then, students should compile definitions, examples, or other information from the course readings, handouts, their own notes, etc. to answer each question. For essay questions, they should prepare a brief outline of main points.
  2. Days before the test, students should spend time memorizing (yes, memorizing) all of the questions and notes on their customized study guide.
  3. Immediately before the test, students should get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and engage in positive self-talk and relaxation exercises. Students should allow plenty of time to get to class for testing so that they do not arrive in a harried state.

Does all of this seem like a lot of work? Yes, but after all, earning a college degree requires a bit of work.

Will all of this effort lead to lower test anxiety? Maybe not at first, but it is likely to once students see the first few test questions and realize that they know the answers.

Will students walk away following the test in a daze as if they have just experienced their first kiss? Absolutely not, but they will feel a sense of relief, satisfaction, and perhaps hope.

These feelings can be positively reinforced by you – the college instructor – by praising students for their efforts (regardless of their resulting test scores) and encouraging them to persist. In addition to helping students succeed in the here-and-now, you will be equipping them to overcome text anxiety when it’s time to take professional licensure exams and graduate school entrance exams in the not-so-distant future.

By helping undergraduate college students develop a growth mindset game plan and taking time in class to show them how to study, we might not be able to help them conquer test anxiety once and for all, but we can prepare them to face it head-on – and eventually, to prevail.

Resources

Contributor:.
Jana Hunzicker, Ed.D.
Bradley University



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