True test anxiety is really quite rare. For this condition, psychologists generally suggest relaxation techniques, getting enough sleep the night before and not cramming for the test, among other remedies.

Most of the time, however, when parents come to me trying to figure out why their child is not doing well on tests and quizzes, I find that the answer resides in poor study habits. Most kids who seem to freeze up on the tests do so because they simply do not know the material well.

Rarely do I find a child who has “over-learned” the material — knows it “cold” — having difficulty with an examination. If the youngster understands the concepts as well as having memorized dates and names, most likely the test questions will be familiar and she can confidently complete the test; however, if your child has only skimmed the material or has memorized it but not understood it conceptually, the test can look quite different from what she has studied, and that can cause a cycle of fear to begin.

The fear builds on itself and can ultimately lead to failure. Bottom line: help your children really study and know their material. Check other posts here and here too.

School leaders in Seaford, Del., had noticed for some time that very few average students took the most challenging courses in the town’s secondary schools. As was the case in most small school systems, many Seaford families did not expect much. Parents and teachers did not want to push kids beyond their limits.

But Seaford educators became convinced that with extra help, many more students could be taking algebra in middle school and college-level courses in high school. Four years ago, they began offering special tutoring, summer classes and Saturday classes. The number of Advanced Placement classes at Seaford High swelled from four to 14.

Here is another example of the impact of expectations on results.

In other words, when we tell our children that they’re not good at something, we’re setting them up for a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Here’s some of what they recommend:

• Be rested and comfortable.
• It’s OK to feel some nervousness.
• Read test directions carefully.
• Show your work; you may receive partial credit.
• Answer the easiest questions first.
• Work neatly.
• Review your work.

It turns out there’s a pretty good correlation between knowing your stuff and doing well on a test. Sometimes we’re not sure if we really know our stuff, so we’re nervous. Maybe we feel a lot of pressure to do well, so we’re nervous. But the better we become at really learning the material and feeling confident, the less we’ll feel anxiety, and yes, the better we’ll do on our tests!

My recommendation to the parents of anxious testers depends on their situation, but can be summarized: let’s make sure that your son or daughter learns how to study, really knows the material and learns how to better assess their own knowledge.