As the spring semester winds down and finals season approaches, some San Jose State students say exams involve a lot of mental pressures that cause testing anxiety.
Sociology senior Jonathan Toney said he has dealt with his “fair share” of test anxiety while at SJSU.
“It’s kind of a lot of pressure because once you start wrapping up the semester, you may feel like a lot of your grade depends on your score on your final test or project,” Toney said.
Test anxiety is a combination of physical symptoms and emotional reactions that can impact students’ ability to perform well on tests, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website.
Toney said he tries to study as much course material as possible before exam day to combat his anxiety but still gets anxious prior to testing.
“Even if you do know the material really well and you study pretty much as hard as you can, until the test is physically over and you’ve actually taken it, that feeling won’t go away until it’s all wrapped up,” he said.
Civil engineering freshman Joseph Youkhanna said he often finds himself second guessing and changing his answers on exams because of his anxious feelings.
“I don’t necessarily get anxiety but I'm anxious in the sense that I’ve misinterpreted something on the test,” Youkhanna said.
He said this semester, he isn’t getting as much sleep because of the amount of homework assignments he has.
“There is a negative factor on my mental health as I’ve increased stress as the semester grows,” Youkhanna said.
Business administration sophomore Mikayla Lillie said she typically experiences anxiety and insomnia during the days leading up to exams.
Lillie said she still gets anxiety leading up to test day even when she studies her hardest.
59.4% of university students have experienced a problem due to testing anxiety according to a 2021 Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy study.
“I think it’s like the forgetfulness that can come from having that gut feeling,” she said. “Like when you’re sitting there taking the test, how you forget the information you know because the anxiety takes over.”
Despite the pertinent effects of testing anxiety, psychologist Craig Sawchuk said creating a consistent pre-test routine is a way students can combat the anxiety that can come with testing.
“Learn what works for you, and follow the same steps each time you get ready to take a test,” Sawchuk told Mayo Clinic in its Aug. 3, 2017 article. “This will ease your stress level and help ensure that you're well-prepared.”
Toney said he’s altered his study practices to better manage his time and mitigate his feelings of testing anxiety.
“I try not to work myself too much in any one period of time,” he said. “I’ll maybe work for like an hour on and then half [of] an hour off.”
Lillie expressed a similar sentiment.
She said time management and spreading the review of the coursework over the course of several days helps calm her anxious feelings.
Lillie said when going into exams, she reminds herself that she studied as much as she could.
“I try not to get too worked up or like go down the anxiety spiral and then I also like to make note cards, even if I can’t use them on the test because it’s a good way of reviewing everything,” she said.
Toney said he thinks professors could better help students by making them aware of the counseling resources on campus.
“I’ve always known that they’ve been there, but I’ve had very few professors that kind of go out of their way to make sure their students know about these resources,” Toney said.
San Jose State’s Counseling and Psychological Services offer students eight free sessions with a personal counselor per calendar year according to sjsu.edu
“You still need to keep it together and wrap up your final year because it can end up being your most important year,” Toney said. “It can oftentimes dictate whether you will graduate on time or not.”
