{"id":5548,"date":"2016-02-21T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-02-21T19:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/?p=5548"},"modified":"2017-03-09T13:50:44","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T21:50:44","slug":"test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/","title":{"rendered":"Test Anxiety on the ACT or SAT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s Saturday morning and you\u2019re not in bed, playing video games, or even working an early shift at your part-time job. Instead, you\u2019re sitting at a desk. Your heart\u2019s pounding, hands sweating profusely, and the only sound is the ticking clock on the wall. A sense of dread falls over you as a bored-looking adult at the front of the room says \u201cYou may begin.\u201d No, this isn\u2019t a nightmare. It\u2019s what test day looks like for students with test anxiety on the ACT or SAT.<\/p>\n<p>If this describes your experience with standardized tests, know that a lot of students are in the same boat. Even better, there are some things you can do right now to decrease your test anxiety on the ACT or SAT.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5549\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5549\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/02\/Hell.gif\" alt=\"A visual approximation of your test proctor.  \" width=\"350\" height=\"197\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5549\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5549\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This shouldn&#8217;t be what you think of when envisioning your test proctor.<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What is Text Anxiety?<\/h2>\n<p>Do any of the following statements sound like something you&#8217;d say?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI need a good score to get a scholarship!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m not a good test taker!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI\u2019m stressed out because I didn\u2019t get enough sleep last night!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI forgot to eat this morning!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe college I want to go to won\u2019t take me unless I get a <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/act-scores\/\">good score<\/a>!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI don\u2019t do well on timed tests!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cBeing around all these people stresses me out!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sound familiar? You may have test anxiety. And that\u2019s okay. The tips and tricks we&#8217;ll look at will help you master your test anxiety on the ACT or SAT, no matter what your previous experiences or fears are.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Defeating Test Anxiety<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cIf you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\">-Sun Tzu, <em>The Art of War<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sun Tzu knew what he was talking about. Though he might have been thinking of invading hordes when he wrote the above quote 2,500 years ago, his strategy will also help you beat test anxiety. Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n<h3>Know the Enemy<\/h3>\n<p>The unknown is always scarier than the known. In terms of test anxiety, this means that a little information can go a long way to defeating your nerves. So what do you know about the ACT or SAT? Here are a few good sources to get you started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/act-study-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complete Guide to ACT Question Types<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/can-i-skip-questions-on-the-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Can I Skip Questions on the ACT?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/sat\/how-long-is-the-sat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How Long is the SAT?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/sat\/how-difficult-is-the-new-sat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How Difficult is the New SAT?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Beyond learning the basic information, practice will also prove invaluable to helping you lower your anxiety. That\u2019s right, it\u2019s time to bust out the practice tests.<\/p>\n<p>No matter how many weeks or days you have between now and test day, set aside time to take practice tests under timed conditions. Not only will you discover your strengths and weaknesses, you will become more accustomed to testing under pressure. That skill alone is worth the time a practice exam takes a thousand times over.<\/p>\n<h3>Know Yourself<\/h3>\n<p>So you&#8217;ve mastered the test content and you&#8217;re still nervous? Here are a few things you can do to make sure your anxiety is low as possible on test day.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t change your routine the night before the test. Cramming at the last minute isn\u2019t going to help, and may even increase your anxiety.<\/li>\n<li>Make a plan to do something fun after the test is over. Believe it or not, this will put you in a better state of mind during the test.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you have <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/last-minute-act-tips\/\">everything you need<\/a> to take to the test site: photo ID, entry ticket, and\/or calculator.<\/li>\n<li>Get a good night\u2019s sleep. I know, the idea of going to bed at 9PM on a Friday night doesn\u2019t sound too appealing. Just trust me on this one.<\/li>\n<li>Even if you don\u2019t usually eat breakfast, eat breakfast on test day. Nothing too greasy or sugary, though. You don\u2019t want to get sick, and coming off a sugar rush will kill your energy level halfway through the test. Think protein.<\/li>\n<li>Get to your test site early. Nothing amps up test anxiety more than the feeling you\u2019ll be late.<\/li>\n<li>As you\u2019re waiting for the test to begin, focus on your breathing. Inhaling and exhaling to a count of four should help calm you down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Know That You Can Take It Again<\/h2>\n<p>Test anxiety on the ACT or SAT might affect your performance on your exam the first time you take it. That\u2019s okay. It happens. Learn from what went wrong, and sign up to <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/how-to-study-for-an-act-retake\/\">take the test again<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I always advise that students <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/sat\/how-to-study-for-an-sat-retake\/\">take the exam again<\/a>. No matter what, you\u2019ll feel more confident, more sure the second time you approach the ACT or SAT. The questions will be different, but the test is still the same. You\u2019ll likely do better, and it\u2019s worth it no matter your goals are for after high school.<\/p>\n<p>Good luck, everyone! Remember, we\u2019ve all been there&mdash;even the proctor at the front of the room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Test anxiety can prevent you from getting a good score on the ACT or SAT. In this article, learn how to defeat it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24915],"class_list":["post-5548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Test Anxiety on the ACT or SAT<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Test anxiety on the ACT or SAT can prevent you from getting a good score. 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In this article, learn how to defeat your test anxiety to get your best score.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog | ACT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshSat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-21T19:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-09T21:50:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/files\/2016\/02\/Hell.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Thomas Broderick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshSAT_ACT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshSAT_ACT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Thomas Broderick\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Thomas Broderick\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#\/schema\/person\/0a42ebf95f4c3aaf08c7f83b3ca64abe\"},\"headline\":\"Test Anxiety on the ACT or SAT\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-21T19:00:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/\"},\"wordCount\":861,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"ACT\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/test-anxiety-on-the-act-or-sat\/\",\"name\":\"Test Anxiety on the ACT or SAT\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/act\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-21T19:00:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Test anxiety on the ACT or SAT can prevent you from getting a good score. 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