Test Taking In Middle School

When I was younger I used to get anxious just hearing the word “test.” From a young age, I struggled with test taking and performing well on them. I have always been a good student, but when it comes to test, I struggle tremendously. I started noticing this trend when I entered middle school. I took more tests, had a lot more homework, and the material was more challenging. I had less time to study for tests than I usually did, which made me more anxious when it came time to actually take the tests. My grades suffered because of this. Through high school, things did not get much better. In my junior year physics class were able to have our notes out while taking the tests. I thought this would help me actually do well on the test. I ended up …show more content…
I thought I had prepared well enough for me to receive a passing grade. When I got my test back I was shocked at the grade: a 66%. I kept thinking to myself what went wrong. I studied, I went to class, and I “somewhat” read the material. The next class my teacher came in and gave us the “Jesus Talk.” Basically, she told us we need to get our lives together or we were going to struggle in her class. I did not understand, I thought I did everything I needed to get a passing grade. Later in the class, she told us some test taking strategies that helped her through her student career. I learned that I need to be using strategies well in advance to taking the test and those tips can also calm your anxiety. When I decided to write my chapbook on test taking and test taking strategies, I thought I was going to look up things that I already knew. I thought they were things I learn in elementary school; such as writing things down on notecards, or writing your notes in different colors to help you remember easier. While these things are true, I was missing the big picture. I am glad that I researched test taking strategies because I believe this will help me cope with my test anxiety and poor test taking in my college