4 Tips for Managing Test-Stress, #4 may be controversial

The test is coming up in a couple of weeks or days and you are asking yourself:

How many of my students still aren’t ready?

How will my students feel if they aren’t successful?
How can I help my students deal with any stress they might be feeling?
How can I help my students so they don’t have to deal with disappointment?
How will I be evaluated or judged by my colleagues and administrators?
How will I feel if the results aren’t acceptable?

Your questions and concerns are shared by a countless number of teachers. I was always one of those teachers who had the “never let them see you sweat” mentality, but the reality was that I was just as concerned as my colleague who broke out in hives and the one who seemed to break out in tears during every grade level meeting.

Here are a 4 tips for managing the stress…

1 – Open-up a dialogue about the test.

Ask your students about the test. They may not be able to fully articulate their thoughts and feelings, but with your help you will be able to identify a few issues. List the issues on chart paper, then brainstorm suggestions for dealing with each of them. The important thing is to validate feelings and concerns by giving the students an opportunity to share.
When reflecting on the stress you might be feeling it may help to share your concerns with a colleague. You may find it helpful to write your thoughts down in a journal. Give yourself time to reflect on each concern. Remind yourself that you are working as hard as you can and that you are making every effort to help your students succeed.

2 – Praise effort, acknowledge the accomplishments, and celebrate even the tiniest of wins.

It’s all too easy to focus on the deficiencies and forget about everything a student has learned over the course of the year.
Create a list of all the objectives for the course or subject. Be sure to unpack the objective by listing all the skills that are associated with the objective.
Provide a copy of the list to each of your students. Have your students review the list and circle all the objectives they recognize. Have them check-off or highlight all the items they believe they have mastered. Give them time to share all the objectives they have mastered.
The completed lists should be kept in an easy to retrieve location. Have the students update their lists every few days.
In terms of your efforts, be sure to take note of all that you have accomplished during the year. While all your students may not be where you want them to be, they most certainly have moved further along in their journey because of your support.

3 – Schedule a motivational and/or fun moment in every class.

Time is always ticking away, and our concerns about the test keep us targeted on it and nothing else. It is important to remember that the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and the world is rotating. In other words, there is much more to the day than test preparations.
You can start the class, wrap-up the class, or stop the class mid-way through to share an inspirational thought, striking image, or funny story. You may even consider playing some music or watching a short video.
If you are feeling adventurous, take the class outside to explore a green space, watch the clouds, or simply breathe some fresh air.

4 – Provide each student with a good-luck charm.

We are not allowed to discuss prayer in school, but many of us recognize the power of prayer. The feeling of being protected and watched over by a higher power fills us with a sense of calm, joy, and even empowerment. We may not be allowed to discuss prayer with our students, but we can find other ways to express our faith in them. Reinforce your confidence in them in the weeks before the test and right before the test.
Lucky charms are a fun and effective way to help students remember how much faith you, their parents, and classmates have in them. You can print up lucky four-leaf clovers on green card stock, then laminate and cut out each one. Perhaps a lucky rabbit’s foot, gold star, or pot of gold are more to your liking. Hand the laminated charm out to your students on the morning of the test and have them place it in their pocket. Ask them to think of it or even rub it when they get stuck on a question. You’ll be amazed how much motivation and inspiration these little charms hold.
If you are a person of faith, then this goes without saying. Be sure to say a prayer for yourself and your students.

Please share your worry in the comments section shown below. Let me know how you are planning to deal with test-stress. Do you have any questions? If so, please post them here or feel free to send an email to vlopez@treetopsecret.com.