As school districts around the country return to in-person instruction, many students may find themselves feeling anxious about the workload, and new or pre-existing anxieties regarding testing may begin to emerge. In the digital model of education, students were often granted a greater level of flexibility with their assignments, with untraditional models of assessment offered to capture student knowledge and meet students differing needs. A downside of returning to in-person instruction is that many accommodations that were offered by virtue of the online model may not be guaranteed. Additionally, counties in Maryland will be making up for a year of missed standardized testing by doubling up in the 2021-2022 school year.
Over the past decade, our understanding of test anxiety has grown tremendously. Test anxiety combines physical and emotional symptoms, and interferes with a students’ ability to perform well on tests, quizzes, and assessments. While these symptoms may vary from student to student, the truth of test anxiety is that it can really stand in the way of student success regardless of test preparation or subject matter knowledge. Standardized tests are still seen as a universal measure of student skill, and struggles with test anxiety can create a situation that negatively affects your future. Students of all strengths and abilities can struggle with test anxiety, and left unchecked it can be a roadblock to success.
At Bridgewater Psychology & Learning Center, we offer a number of services that can help to minimize the effects of test anxiety. Our academic coaching and tutoring can foster confidence and teach coping strategies, while our assessments can identify the potential for accommodations at the school, state, and national level. Testing is stressful for students, but students with test anxiety are disproportionally negatively affected by their test performance.
Your success is our mission at Bridgewater Psychology, and we will work with your student to help them to better understand their needs.