Test anxiety takes many different forms. Part of dealing with test anxiety is understanding why it happens and identifying its symptoms. Whatever the reason for test anxiety, you should know that it is common among college students.

Test anxiety has many causes. It can be the result of the pressure that students put on themselves to succeed. Some stress connected with taking exams is natural and can motivate you to perform better. However, when students put too much pressure on themselves or set unrealistic goals, the result can be stress that is no longer motivating.

The expectations of parents, a spouse or partner, friends, and other people who are close to you can also create test anxiety. Sometimes, for example, two-year college students are the first in their families to attend college and thus feel extra pressure that can be overwhelming.

Finally, some test anxiety is caused by lack of preparation. The awareness that you are not prepared, that you have fallen behind on assigned reading, homework, or other academic commitments, is usually the source of anxiety. Procrastination can also be a big problem because if you do poorly on the first test in a course, you will have even more pressure to do well on other tests to pull up your course grade. This situation becomes even more difficult if the units of the course are cumulative—that is, if they build on one another, as in math and foreign languages, or if the final exam includes understanding all the course material.

Some test anxiety comes from a negative prior experience. Forgetting past failures can be a challenge; however, the past is not the present. If you carefully follow the strategies in this chapter, you are likely to do well on future tests. Remember that a little anxiety is okay, but if you find that anxiety is getting in the way of your performance on tests and exams, be sure to ask for help from your college counseling center.