As we lead more into the school year, standardized tests remain a big part of school.  They are supposed to measure how well students are doing, but all the focus on these tests can really affect students. These tests can also cause stress and worry, change what is taught in classrooms to only what is on the test, and even make school draining and unfair for some students.  

Pre-test Nerves! 

   Students express how they feel knowing they have a test coming up, and how it changes the way they go about it. Junior Daniel Lawson revealed a mix of anxiety and determination. “It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” she said. “To be honest, knowing that you have a test coming up, I try to remain calm; it’s not the end of the world if I don’t pass the test. But I do study harder than normal. The way I deal with the pressure is to just take breaks in between to remain focused. I always remind myself that it won’t be the last test and I can always improve.”  

Leonardo Mendoza, another 11th grader, says, “It really makes me think more about the future and what I’d do if I don’t pass these tests, but it encourages me to study harder to get a good score.” 

However, Alex Morales, a junior, says, “Knowing I have all those important tests coming up makes me feel nervous.  Even if I try to focus and study, I continue to get distracted by all the stress I feel.” 

Managing Stress 

Students use different methods to handle the stressful feelings of tests. Gabriela Laurencio, a junior, recommends, “Listening to music and studying more so I can be prepared and confident that I won’t fail.” 

Similarly, Derick Avellan, another junior, says, “Mainly what helps me deal with the stress is music. I use music to calm down, get encouraged and get into a proper mindset for studying and prepping for the test.”  

An anonymous senior says, “I manage my stress by not thinking about the test so much. When you begin to overthink it, you end up making greater mistakes than if you sit and breath and calm down, 99% of the time you will do better stressing less than stressing more.” 

What advice would you give? 

There are some students out there who have no idea how to deal with the overwhelming pressure they feel when dealing with exams. However, we do have some people who know just what to say. 12th grader Marcia Hernandez says, “My advice to other students about dealing with tests is just to live, laugh, and love. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will. If you believe you’re going to pass, you will pass by default. If you walk into that testing room with a negative mindset, then you’re automatically going to fail. I promise, believing in yourself and your abilities is you passing 50% of that test already.”  

 11th grader Dariany Orellana says, “My advice is definitely study ahead of time, so you don’t fall behind. If there’s anything you don’t know, ask questions and communicate, get plenty of sleep, and stay organized.” 

 An anonymous sophomore says, “Realistically you’re always going to stress, but try not to, you shouldn’t. The test may be especially important, but if you have the mindset that you will do great, you WILL do even better. Try your best with all the knowledge you have.”  

Daniel Lawson says, “Honestly to deal with the pressure I take breaks in between testing and studying. I try to remain calm and get it through my brain that again, it is not the end of the world if I don’t pass that test.” 

The pressure is also a key side effect of tests. We all feel the need to be the best and score the best, and it often ends up clouding our judgement. Emelin Ruiz, a junior, says, “I notice I get anxiety and forget absolutely everything I studied for, and it feels like my mind just goes blank. My heart starts beating very quickly, and I get really tense, like I can’t focus on anything except the pressure of the test.”  

Curriculum 

Students aren’t the only people who have to change their way of going about a school day whenever exams come up. Teachers also deal with having to change their form of teaching to better prepare for these tests. English teacher Mrs. Puentes says, “It doesn’t really affect my teaching methods because every day in my class is an important day, but it does affect how we cover the curriculum in the sense that if we have missed days because we’re proctoring, it throws off our lessons a little bit, but you can always catch up or make up what you missed. Now, in terms of my curriculum methods, if I’m prepping for a test, I don’t want to be a class that is test-based. I really believe that if you teach your content well, the skill will translate into the testing strategy. So, I don’t necessarily make any changes other than making sure that I’m covering the correct standards that students are used to seeing what might be on the test, but teaching for me is teaching the content and that’s what really prepares the students for testing.”