How to Help Students Through SAT Test Anxiety

Your students’ strong desire to perform well in college admission exams can cause SAT test anxiety. But the symptoms of such anxiety aren’t always clearly visible. As a result, SAT tutors, educators, test prep coaches, and even parents catch the issue too late.

Many studies, including this 30-year meta-analytic study, have confirmed that test anxiety and educational performance (including scoring on standardized testing) are negatively related. Therefore, SAT test anxiety can cause your students to score lower than their potential.

In this article, we discuss what SAT test anxiety is, why students experience it. We also review the key signs of test anxiety and offer SAT anxiety tips for Students. Finally, we also cover when you should escalate and seek more professional help.
‍

What Is Sat Test Anxiety And Why Does It Happen?

SAT test anxiety is a mix of fear and stress that students experience before or during the SAT. It can lower a student’s ability to understand and process the test material or remember what they have studied during their test preparation journey. 

The systematic study of test anxiety dates back to the 1950s. Various studies and experiments have improved our understanding of how the stimulus of a test and the corresponding response by way of anxiety work. 

SAT Test Anxiety Triggers

It would help to understand the triggers that cause this anxiety. Here are the principal ones:

• High stakes: Because the SAT impacts their ability to secure college admissions, students experience a high degree of pressure while taking the test.
• Past experiences: Poor performance in earlier SAT attempts can heighten fear in subsequent test attempts.
• Unrealistic expectations: Your students may be targeting scores that are way beyond what their dream college asks for.
• Fear of failures: Not living up to the expectations of parents, SAT tutors, or even peers can put students under tremendous pressure.
• Inadequate understanding: When a student doesn’t understand an aspect of the SAT, it’s natural for them to be unduly stressed. For instance, students who do not understand digital SAT scoring will experience more stress than those who do.

How Sat Test Anxiety Impacts Scores

An oft-cited study reports that students with high test anxiety score about 12 percentile points below their low-anxiety peers.

Here are the four dimensions of how test anxiety negatively impacts scores:

• Reduced performance: SAT test anxiety can impede the student’s cognitive ability to concentrate, interpret questions, or recall information. 
• Increased discomfort: The bodily manifestation of test-taking stress, (e.g. more sweating or dry mouth) can hurt a student’s SAT performance.
• Significant negativity: Students under test anxiety begin to lose self-confidence. This could make them doubt the answer choices they select or slow down. 
• Biochemical response: When experiencing stress, the body releases hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. While they help prepare the body to combat the stress, they can leave an individual feeling drained.
  ‍

Key Signs Your Students May Have Sat Test Anxiety

Managing SAT stress begins by understanding the key signs of test anxiety. Here are the various signs your student is suffering from SAT anxiety.

Physical Symptoms

Here are the most easily noticeable symptoms that your students are experiencing considerable test anxiety:

• Sweating 
• Shaking 
• Increased heartbeats
• Nausea 
• Stomach aches or headaches
• Trouble sleeping the night before a test
• Change in appetite or eating patterns
• Sleeplessness or oversleeping

Emotional Signs

College admission tests can be quite demanding, so the emotional prep for SAT is equally important. The emotional signs of SAT test anxiety include: 

• Feeling overwhelmed 
• Panick or helplessness before or during the test
• Persistent fear of failing, even if well-prepared
• Bursts of irritability or frustration
• Sadness around testing time
• Cutting off from friends or excess interaction with them

Performance Drop-Offs And Avoidance Behavior

Some students exhibit a particular pattern of avoidance, whereas others may exhibit the polar opposite, which is obsessive studying. As a result, you may see them:

• Stop caring about scores, followed by a sharp drop in performance
• Skip taking practice tests altogether
• Avoid discussing their test preparations
• Drop hints of “real-world experience instead of education”
• Add unrelated activities to their schedule that leaves little time for test preparation
• Repeatedly discuss questions like “What if I fail?”
• Study obsessively without a plan

Cognitive Signs

Stress impairs the student’s ability to understand and analyze test material. Whether you are a SAT tutor, educator, or a parent, pay extra attention to spot the following cognitive signs of SAT test anxiety:

• Student’s mind going blank during the test
• Racing thoughts 
• Heightened worrying
• Trouble focusing on questions
• Inability to choose the right answer choice even for easy questions
• Selecting answer choices too quickly or randomly to get over the daunting experience
  ‍

Effective Techniques Tutors Can Use To Reduce Sat Anxiety

Techniques to beat SAT anxiety must be comprehensive to be effective. That’s why we’ve categorized them based on what your students should do before the actual test, during the test, and after the test. 

Learning how to stay calm during the SAT will take some work. So be sure to help students comprehensively, and not on just one or two aspects.

Before the test

1. Help students study well

Being prepared is a great antidote to test anxiety. The digital SAT is a different beast, so start by making them conversant with the digital SAT and type of questions. 

Help them navigate the finer details of how the adaptive SAT works. Ensure that they understand their strengths, and identify and correct their weaknesses. Finally, make them work with a plan.

2. Have students take practice SAT tests…

…but only the ones that accurately mimic the actual tests. A set of high-quality, reliable practice SAT tests will not only help your students score better but also make them comfortable on the test day. No point squandering their resources on something that isn’t relevant, accurate, or updated.

3. Build an atmosphere of trust and openness

Don’t be fooled by your student’s promise to let you know if they need help. Many won’t be able to muster the courage to take the first step. As a SAT tutor, you need to take the first steps to let them know that asking small questions doesn’t make them stupid. 

If you are a parent, let your child know you love them unconditionally. If required, open about your own vulnerabilities so that your child feels comfortable discussing their challenges. 

4. Have a plan to beat anxiety

Train your students to pay attention to details. From carrying required documents to reaching in time to being well-rested before the test date, groom them to be mindful enough to prevent building up of undue stress.

Also, when faced with a difficult or unusual question in the test, they should know how much time they should give to the question before moving on. In short, one of the key SAT anxiety tips for students is to prevent surprises that cause stress.

5. Make sure they get adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise

Sure, the SAT prep is demanding. But that’s no reason for students to deprive themselves of sleep or food. Regularly counsel students on how critical adequate sleep, proper food, and exercise are to test success.

6. Train them to visualize success  

Groom students to visualize success. Have them create a mental image of confidently writing their SAT and doing well. When they repeat this regularly, their test anxiety will automatically reduce over time.

On the test day

1. Practising deep breathing

One of the quickest ways to release tension is to breathe slowly and intentionally. If your students feel anxiety during the test, they should know how to start breathing slowly and mindfully to relax.

2. Timing

With adequate practice through mock SATs, your students should have built a habit of keeping an eye on the clock. The SAT certainly puts time pressure on students, so anyone who manages their time invariably wins.

3. Sticking to the strategy

Because the SAT follows a fixed pattern in terms of questions and time limits, it allows students to enter the test center with a broad strategy in mind. Remind them it’s important not to stray too far from the strategy on the test day; they’re most likely to do well if they stick to the plan.

4. Arriving ahead of time

Encourage students to arrive at the venue well ahead of time. That will not only allow them to be physically comfortable with the surroundings of the test environment but also avoid unnecessary stress

5. Paying attention to the details

Over their SAT prep journey, students should have learned that how the question is worded can change what would be the correct answer. Train your students so that when they sit for the actual SAT, they will pay close attention to the language of the question and not jump to conclusions.

6. Ignoring the “noise”

At the test venue, there will always be some people who come up with crazy theories on acing the test. It’s no time to evaluate if their suggestions are wise, so make sure your students treat such theories as noise and calmly ignore them.

After the test

1. Plan a celebratory event

A positive experience (a mini celebration, for instance) after a stressful event (the SAT, in this case) provides positive reinforcement. Furthermore, it is an important step in stress recovery and boosting confidence for the future. Finally, this is very useful in preventing burnout

2. Accept that the SAT is over

Once the test ends, it ends. How well someone did cannot be undone, so it’s best to move one. Help students embrace this and avoid stress.
‍

Recognizing When Professional Help Is Needed

Despite your best efforts and intentions, there could be times when you don’t see any visible improvement in your student’s anxiety levels. However, data on what is a serious level of anxiety differs.

‍The Sleep Foundation says difficult emotions lasting for more than two weeks can point to depression. WebMD takes a more liberal view and says having trouble with sleep at least three times a week for more than three months could indicate an anxiety disorder. 

So you must understand the threshold of frequency, intensity, and duration to gauge the seriousness of the situation. As you counsel your students on how to stay calm during the SAT, the following empirical indicators could serve as a good reference on whether to escalate and ask for additional help:

Severe physical symptoms

• Headaches, stomachaches, or nausea several times every week
• Symptoms interfere with the student’s ability to attend school or carry out routine daily tasks

Avoidance lasting at least a month

• Missing scheduled sessions 
• Skipping tests consistently at least three times in a row

Sleep or eating disruptions

• Sleep issues at least three times a week for over three months can
• Chronic patterns of overeating or under-eating nearly half the time for more than a fortnight 

Emotional outbursts

• Extreme reactions to petty issues over at least one week
• Yelling or anger for trivial matters at least three times a month

Pessimistic communication

• Regular remarks like “I’m a loser!” every other day
• Constant refusal to address issues with canned replies like, “Won’t work for me!”
  

‍

‍

Help Your Students Prepare Well With EdisonOS

By leveraging scheduled study plans and in-depth analytics on the EdisonOS platform, tutors can help students stay organized, track their progress, and focus on the right areas of improvement. 

This structured approach not only enhances their preparation but also alleviates the stress and anxiety often associated with test-taking. With a clear roadmap in place, students can approach their exams with confidence, knowing they are well-prepared. 

Ready to see how EdisonOS can make a difference in your tutoring sessions? Book a demo today!
‍

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SAT test anxiety common?

Yes, it is. Research suggests that between 10% and 40% of all students experience test anxiety. Since the SAT is a major standardized test, many students likely feel this way when preparing for or taking the SAT.

Can breathing exercises really help reduce anxiety?

Yes, multiple studies have confirmed it does. A meta-analysis published in Nature confirms that practicing slow, deliberate breathing can meaningfully reduce anxiety and stress, and improve emotional well-being. This analysis covered PsycInfo, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov and ISRCTN, making it more reliable.

How long does it take to manage SAT stress effectively?

It depends on how severe the stress is. However, with consistent use of coping strategies, many students start feeling more confident within a few weeks to a few months.

Can SAT anxiety affect college admissions?

Yes. Students with high test anxiety can score up to 12 percentile points lower than their peers. This lowers their chances of getting into competitive colleges.

‍