Test Prep Books/Effective Study Skills for Test Taking Anxiety

A well-respected instructor in a prestigious health care training program. stopped me in the stairwell. “I want to tell you how I used the 3 legged stool last week,” he said. He proceeded to tell me about a recent incident in which a competent student did poorly on a performance test. After the procedure the teacher found out that the student had just suffered a death in his family and was planning to leave immediately after the test for the funeral. But the student hadn’t told anyone about the tragic event or his plans. He was determined to barrel through and take off.

Things didn’t work out the way he planned.  Uncharacteristically, his test performance was sub-par. He barely got through.  This was a smart,

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Why are we stuck listening to the negative voice?

A student I am working with has a problem. Here’s what she says about it:  “Every time on a test when I’m not sure if my answer is right, I immediately have negative thoughts, ‘You’re not going to get this right,’ ‘You don’t know the material,” ‘You can’t figure this out.’ Why do I always think these negative thoughts?”

This is a great question and something I’ve wondered about for a long time. It’s a very common situation: in a difficult or doubtful situation most of us usually veer towards the negative. What’s going on?  In a series of posts I’m going to address this issue. Today we’ll look at one cause  and one method of dealing with it.

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The calm, confident and focused teacher

As the health care debate nears some resolution (at least for the time being), the legislative agenda is already setting its compass to point towards education. A lead article in the New York Times titled “Obama Calls for a Major Change in the Education Law,” the President and his Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan are calling for a re-visioning of No Child Left Behind.

(see referenced article link to ‘Major Change in Education Law’)

One of the key features of the new policy is the focus on teachers and how they teach.

Quoting the article: The administration’s proposals would also rework the law’s teacher-quality provisions by requiring states to develop evaluation procedures to distinguish effective instructors, partly based on whether their students are learning.

I read this to mean: teachers are going to be tested. Big time. I don’t mean…

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The Workbook as textbook for basic skills course

Recently I learned that Mendocino College is offering a course titled Test Anxiety and Test Taking Skills.  The course description reads:  “The mental, emotional, and physical aspects of test anxiety. General life stressors, school related stressors and techniques for eliminating or reducing anxiety. Studying for a test and test-taking strategies will be emphasized.”

A course with this title and purpose was so intriguing to me that….

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In a most interesting article in yesterday’s Washington Post, reporter Nelson Hernandez covered a story at a local middle school. He wrote, “Schools these days focus mostly on preparing students for tests of reading and math, but during lunchtime at Kenmoor Middle School in Landover, the youngsters sitting in a small circle were tackling the really deep questions: Ethics. Fairness. How to split dessert.”

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Charles make the model his own

Want the best way to reduce your test anxiety?  Personalize the training model I present in the book.

I gave a talk at Oregon Health Sciences University, School of Dentistry, last week and one of the 3rd year students, Charles Nguyen, took the 3 legged stool and ran with it.

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I came across an article about a successful program designed for at-risk students and dropouts working toward their GED.  It’s an 18 month program in which students learn academic, personal, leadership and vocational skills through hands-on-activities.

Karen Bryant, who mentors students even after graduation, said she credits the success of the program to a relationship built on trust and respect with her students. Many of the students have remained friends of Bryant over the years.

In the ‘confidence’ leg of my 3-legged stool performance model I explore into the relationship between ‘trust’ and ‘confidence.’

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Talking about his family, President Obama said, “And part of our job as parents — Michelle and my job — is not just to tell our kids what to do, but to start instilling in them a sense that they want to do it for themselves.”

I remember a high school student  brought in by her parents. I asked her, “Do you know why you are here?” She immediately replied, “Yes. My parents want me to get higher SAT score. And I don’t want to work for it.”

Then the three of them leaned in. All eyes were on me…

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A student, I’ll call her Sophie, came to me for coaching recently. She’s been having terrible problems with tests, saying she “freaks out” every time she takes an important exam.

I asked Sophie to explain what she meant by “freak out,” she described the intense static going on in her mind while she attempts to answer the questions. “I keep thinking, I don’t understand the question … I didn’t study the right things … I don’t remember anything … I’m not going to get this answer right … My scholarship won’t be renewed.” Her voice trailed off. She looked discouraged and dejected as she whispered, “It’s a mess.”

Rings a bell?

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A typical GED test taker faces challenges. They have hectic lives. They go through a lot. Just committing to a test prep class is very difficult. Many have jobs that require shift work, while others need to find child care.

Nieves Stiker, an educator involved in GED test prep classes in Pennsylvania said. “Some people come to us and feel very adequate within a couple of weeks while others, no matter how hard they study, it’s harder. Sometimes, it takes more than one try.”

In my performance model – the three-legged stool — focus is a critical leg. Without it you cannot achieve any measure of success. In other words, you will not get anywhere in life.

In regard to testing, focus is a noun  and a verb. There is a goal of scoring well on the test, and there is work toward that goal.

Being focused is, ultimately and intimately, linked to a powerful source in you-your spirit. Think of your spirit as your power generator. It produces the energy that sparks every one of your achievements.

I hope GED test takers read Chapter Six: How to Stay Focused.

Here’s a pointer. While the goal of doing well in GED seems large and overwhelming to many, remember this: any goal can be broken down into small, manageable chunks. These are action steps. Action steps break up the process of achieving a goal into do-able increments. I use the simple SMART formula to make action steps work.

Specific. Your goal is precise and well defined.

Measurable. You can gauge whether you’ve reached it or not.

Adjustable. You can adapt or modify it if you need to.

Realistic. Your goals are attainable given your available time, energy and resources.

Time-based. Whatever goal you set is linked to the clock or calendar.

Whether you are a GED test-taker or teacher, I’d like to hear from you.

You might be interested in the article about the GED test-takers.

I’m on my way to New Orleans to speak at a conference for the Coalition for Essential Schools Conference, a group of progressive educators across the country. My talk is  MAKING TESTING EMPOWERING.  I speak on Friday. Keep you posted.  In the meanwhile, GED’ers– keep empowering yourselves!