What percentage of students suffer from test anxiety?
This type of anxiety is more common than most may realize. According to the American Test Anxieties Association, about 16 to 20 percent of students have high test anxiety, with another 18 percent troubled by moderately high test anxiety.
Symptoms of test anxiety
Emotional symptoms: Feelings of stress, fear, helplessness, and disappointment, negative thoughts (rumination about past poor performances, consequences of failure, feeling inadequate, helpless), mind going blank, and racing thoughts.
Test anxiety is more than feeling a little nervous before a test. For students who struggle with test anxiety, a bit of pre-exam nervousness turns into debilitating feelings of worry, dread, and fear, which can negatively impact performance. Students can struggle with test anxiety at any age.
It's normal to feel a little nervous and stressed before a test. Just about everyone does. And a little nervous anticipation can actually help you do better on a test. But for some people, test anxiety is more intense.
Estimates are that between 40 and 60% of students have significant test anxiety that interferes with their performing up to their capability.
Approximately 25–40% of US students suffer from test anxiety. Many college students experience academic-related anxiety during their collegiate careers.
Poor study habits, poor past test performance, and an underlying anxiety problem can all contribute to test anxiety. Fear of failure: If you connect your sense of self-worth to your test scores, the pressure you put on yourself can cause severe test anxiety.
Test anxiety can come from a feeling of a lack of control. Test anxiety can be caused by a teacher embarrassing a student. Being placed into course above your ability can cause test anxiety. Test anxiety develops from fear of alienation from parents, family, and friends due to poor grades.
You may become anxious because you cannot predict the outcome of a test. Even if your locus of control is internal, you may feel temporarily helpless in a testing situation when you know you have not studied enough. Feeling guilty for not meeting your responsibilities may cause you to experience test anxiety.
Finals and midterms accounted as the top source of stress for 31% of U.S. students. Class and workload were third at 23%. Homework placed fourth at 13%. 36.5% of U.S. college students pointed to stress as the biggest reason why their academic performance suffered negatively for the past 12 months.
Is test anxiety rare among students?
Test anxiety is rare among students. Anxiety can influence our ability to concentrate. It is possible to identify the symptoms of test anxiety. Students can learn how to become better test takers.
Anxiety surrounding school is common and can affect any child, regardless of age, grade level, or academic achievement. For some students, it is so severe that it interferes with their ability to learn and function at school.
Test anxiety can lead to poor performance on tests. Here's how to recognize the symptoms and find ways to manage the anxiety.
Test anxiety can also be labeled as anticipatory anxiety, situational anxiety or evaluation anxiety. Some anxiety is normal and often helpful to stay mentally and physically alert.
Almost everyone will feel nervous or experience some level of anxiety when faced with an exam, assessment, or performance situation. This is a common and natural response for many students in the preparation before, and during exams.
Although figures vary, it's estimated that about 16 percent of college and high school students have high test anxiety and 18 percent have moderately high test anxiety, according to psychologist and author Richard Driscoll of the American Test Anxieties Association.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- GAD affects 6.8 million adults or 3.1% of the U.S. population, yet only 43.2% are receiving treatment. NIMH: Generalized Anxiety Disorder. - Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.
| Disorder | Share of global population with disorder (2017) [difference across countries] | Number of people with the disorder (2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Any mental health disorder | 10.7% | 792 million |
| Depression | 3.4% [2-6%] | 264 million |
| Anxiety disorders | 3.8% [2.5-7%] | 284 million |
| Bipolar disorder | 0.6% [0.3-1.2%] | 46 million |
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEST ANXIETY:
One type of test anxiety is somatic, which is what you are feeling. 2. The second type of test anxiety is cognitive, which is what you are thinking.
- Learn how to study efficiently. ...
- Study early and in similar places. ...
- Establish a consistent pretest routine. ...
- Talk to your teacher. ...
- Learn relaxation techniques. ...
- Don't forget to eat and drink. ...
- Get some exercise. ...
- Get plenty of sleep.
What are the factors affecting test anxiety?
With regard to anxiety increasing factors, Bachelor level students tended to cite lack of preparation, fear of failing, family responsibilities, characteristics of the professor and exam, lack of time management skills, and lack of study skills as factors related to test anxiety as compared to Masters students.
Studies have shown that anywhere between 35-70% of students deal with moderate to high levels of test anxiety (stats across the globe – AU | UK | US) and that it's rising in correlation with the amount of tests being taken.
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Figure 1.
| Demographic | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 19.1 | |
| Sex | Female | 23.4 |
| Male | 14.3 | |
| Age | 18-29 | 22.3 |