Fear Of Exams In Children
Teachers, throughout the course, must evaluate the learning that their students acquire in the different subjects taught in the classroom. Most of them use exams as tools to assess students’ knowledge. Faced with these tests, it is normal for children to feel some nervousness or restlessness. But did you know that some experience real fear of exams?
In fact, according to psychologists Juan José Miguel Tobal and Amalia Escalona, it is estimated that in Spain around 15% and 25% of students in primary or secondary education have high levels of anxiety before exams.
Do you want to know how this fear develops, what implications it has and how it can be overcome? Along the following lines we answer these questions!
Fear of exams in children
Taking an exam is not a pleasant experience, since it implies being judged and qualified with a grade that, supposedly, determines the level of knowledge that one has on a subject.
This can pose some stress and nervousness for students, which in some cases can become an extreme and limiting fear that negatively affects academic performance and mental health itself.
To prevent the situation from reaching these levels, it is important that families and teachers pay attention to children’s reactions during the days leading up to the test and on the day of the test itself. These alarming reactions can be divided into three groups:
- Physiological : rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, nausea, excessive sweating, insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, etc.
- Psychological : inability to act and make decisions, difficulty expressing oneself correctly, problems remembering information or concentrating, etc.
- Emotional : sudden changes in mood and behavior, restlessness, irritation and constant anger for no reason, etc.
In the case of identifying any of these signs, such as mothers, fathers or teachers, it is necessary to take charge of speaking directly and clearly with the student in question to convey tranquility and support.
When to seek psychological help to overcome this type of fear?
When the fear of exams in children is presented in an extreme, uncontrolled and disabling way, we would no longer be talking about a fear typical of the school stage, but about a psychological pathology called testophobia.
The testofobia is a situational type of specific phobia is characterized by experimentation an intense and constant concern regarding the assessment tests.
This excessive fear, which persists over time, produces anguish, anxiety, panic and a lot of suffering in situations that imply facing an exam. Which limits and incapacitates students with said disorder, not only academically, but also personally.
It must be taken into account that exams are a common practice in the educational system, so that children who present this phobia frequently experience the general discomfort that this type of tests implies for them.
To prevent this problem from escalating, it is important that, as soon as it is observed that the fear of exams is becoming a serious problem, a professional psychologist is consulted to help the child manage and control this fear.
Why does the fear of exams appear?
According to the psychopedagogue Esperanza Bausela Herreras there are several reasons why fear of exams usually appears, among which are
- Having had a negative test experience in the past ; mental blockage, inability to remember what was studied, very complex questions that cannot be answered, etc.
- Have a poor academic self-concept and lack of confidence in their own abilities.
- Not having studied enough for the exam.
- Having negative and intrusive thoughts related to fear of failure in academia.
- Being pressured by the little time available to take the test or by the consequences of passing or failing a certain exam. For example, if it is decisive for the academic future, to avoid repeating the course, etc.
In short, whatever the cause that makes a child fear exams, the important thing is that the problem is detected as soon as possible in order to solve it.
