AKA – putting them in a separate room isn’t helping them learn to manage their anxiety
Every year most students suffer from exam anxiety, it’s completely normal. However, for some students the anxiety can be overwhelming and, research has shown, affect revision and performance (see link below). Often the way of dealing with exam anxiety is to request a separate room to sit exams as it’s felt that large exam halls increase anxiety. However, this comes with several problems. Firstly, as most students suffer from exam anxiety, how do we know for whom it is excessive, and surely every student would prefer to sit their exam in a separate room so why should only students with forthright parents benefit? Secondly, many schools are struggling to find enough ‘separate rooms’ and it’s proving costly especially with reducing budgets. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important, we aren’t actually helping the student to manage their anxiety. It’s a sticking plaster just to get them through.
The best way we can support students in learning to manage their anxiety has three components – the educational setting, the parents/carers, the student.
The Educational Setting
I am invited to many settings to talk about exam anxiety to staff and students. I remember one setting where I was invited and had a great session with the Year 11s. Immediately after I’d finished a senior leader came in and berated all the students for not doing enough revision towards their exams which meant they would likely fail and let everyone down. Complete waste of money asking me in.
Another setting I went to, again to talk about exam anxiety, the students were under pressure to get a certain level of grades to get into the school sixth form. I asked students what alternatives they had to the school sixth form, and they didn’t know. I spoke to the SLT about this, and their feeling was that by speaking of other alternatives they would be encouraging the students not to try hard to achieve their grades and get into their sixth form. I pointed out that this wasn’t actually working, and they perhaps had an inflated view of their sixth form???
Supporting exam anxiety isn’t just a ‘student’ thing. It’s about educational settings looking at the messages they are sending to students. Is their value purely based on academic achievement? Or does the setting give that impression by only talking about academic achievement? What language is used around exams? The following statements are a big no – and yes I’ve heard them all said:
- the rest of your life depends on these exams
- you haven’t done enough revision
- you’ll let everyone down
- you’ll end up flipping burgers in MacDonalds
- you need to show you’re better than *sibling/friend
- can you imagine how disappointed *certain person will be if you don’t do well
Positive motivation always works better than negative motivation – think sports psychology. Also, letting students know all alternatives following the exams doesn’t mean they will automatically take the easiest option, it just reduces the pressure and allows them to perform better.
Parents/Carers
With parents and carers, it’s similar to the education settings. What language are parents/carers using around exams? Are we ensuring that our children know our love is unconditional? And this means explicitly saying it not presuming they know because so often they don’t. Are parents/carers using supportive, research based techniques to enable revision which includes regular breaks and keeping up with enjoyable aspects of life including socialisation.
As parents/carers, we also want to protect our child from difficulties and hurt but research has shown that this protective parenting isn’t helpful to the mental health and wellbeing of students. It reduces their resilience which can affect them throughout life. Parents should be aware that overprotection exacerbates anxiety rather than reducing it. Children should be encouraged, and allowed, to make mistakes so they can learn from them. We need to help children challenge their comfort zone regularly so that their comfort zone expands and they aren’t afraid of trying new things.
Students
Finally, the student. Are we helping them manage their anxiety using proven strategies and techniques? There are a wealth of resources out there including CBT resources such as Exam Anxiety CBT Targeted Programme which is easily used for individuals or groups. Saying “…don’t worry about it…” isn’t going to reduce anyone’s anxiety.
Start looking now at your settings approach to exam anxiety and you will reap the benefits come the summer.