Can I tell you a secret? I was a really bad test taker when I was in college. There I said it! I was the girl who helped her friends study for their math tests. Then when it came time to actually take the test myself, I didn’t do so great. I never knew of any strategies to reduce math anxiety because I didn’t even know that is what I had!
It would be test day and the professor would pass out those little blue books before the test to record all of our answers in. I remember sitting there feeling like I was going to pass out.
Would I remember everything that I studied? Would I have enough time to complete the test? I really wanted to graduate with honors, but if I didn’t get an A or B then you might as well forget it! We all know most college math course grades usually only consisted of at most 3 test grades.
I mean I obviously passed, but my grade didn’t reflect my knowledge of the material. Why you ask because I had math anxiety when it came time to take a test. I just didn’t realize that is what I had!
How to Reduce Math Anxiety
What is math anxiety? According to this article, I found from Edutopia
“When students have math anxiety, any math-related question can make them feel extremely stressed. They lack full access to their working memory, making it nearly impossible for them to think clearly. They may even have this reaction when they know the answer—it’s the fear that is standing in the way, not the math.”
I would get so worried about not remembering how to do the math that I would actually forget how to do it.
Staying calm when it came time to take math tests was something I didn’t know how to do! I would let my emotions take over my brain and I would literally forget everything!
Since I have been teaching, I have noticed that my students do the exact thing. They can do in-class examples and homework with little to no problems and then when it comes time to take any type of assessment, I hear the same thing each and every time!
I don’t remember how to do this! Can you help me?
I realized that my students wanted my help during math exams because they lacked the confidence when it came time to do the math on their own.
They were experiencing math anxiety and I needed to be able to help them with strategies to reduce their math anxiety and cope with their feelings towards math.
Strategies to Reduce Math Anxiety
Since I experienced math anxiety in college and I witness my students going through the same thing, I’m going to share 5 tips that I wish someone would’ve told me when I was getting ready to take my math tests.
5 Strategies to Reduce Math Anxiety During Math Tests
- Be prepared for the test by studying the night before.
- Take your time and check all of your work.
- Take deep and calming breaths throughout the test.
- Think of the test as homework.
- Pretend you are teaching your friend how to do the problem.
How to Stop Math Anxiety
Be prepared for the test by studying the night before.
Yes, you can study for a math test! I tell my students all the time to look at their notes and homework before we take any exams. I also make sure I have a review day before any major tests. Reviewing the day before helps students prepare for the exam by seeing material they may have not seen for a few days.
Take your time and check all of your work.
Taking your time and checking all of your work is a strategy that I couldn’t master myself either! I knew I needed to get finished with the exam during the allotted time period, but I knew that I felt rushed. It is a balance between taking your time and getting finished in the allowed time frame.
I also always tell my students to check their work by checking their answers for reasonableness and by substituting their answers back into their problems to see if they work. Math is the only subject that you can do this with!
Take deep and calming breaths throughout the test.
If your students are starting to feel anxious, I tell them to take a few deep breaths to try to calm themselves and to think of the test as homework.
Think of the test as homework.
When your students think of the test as homework, they are less likely to be anxious about the math itself. I usually do not grade homework for correctness so it alleviates the anxiety students get when they are afraid to get something wrong.
Getting something wrong means missing points and doing poorly on the exam. If we take the fear away from the exam, then your students are most likely to perform better on the test.
Pretend you are teaching your friend how to do the problem.
If you ever listen to your students explain how to do their math problems to a friend, you would be amazed at the connections that they can make from each other.
I like to tell my students that when they are taking an exam, to look at each problem and think of how they would explain how to do the problem to a friend.
If they are feeling confused, then looking at the problems from a different perspective usually calms their fears of not knowing how to do something.
So there you have it. 5 simple strategies to reduce math anxiety during tests that you can use with your students today. I know some of them may seem super simple, but if you know me at all, I like to keep things simple and consistent for my students so they don’t feel overwhelmed with too many different concepts.
Do you want to know more simple strategies that I use with my students?
PS. Let me know what strategies you plan on using with your students today! I would love to hear from you!
Love Robin
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