If you’re a high schooler, you probably already know that you’ll spend a significant amount of your Junior and Senior Years studying content for the SAT and ACT: math, vocabulary, grammar rules, et cetera. Savvy students (like you!) also dedicate plenty of time to learning and practicing test-taking strategies, from general principles like when it’s smart to guess to more section-specific hacks like how to answer Vocab in Context Questions accurately and quickly.
And I love to see it! After all, I spend much of my days as a professional ACT and SAT tutor helping students master all of these concepts! But even the most dedicated student of content and strategy might STILL find themselves plateauing at a score below the standard they need to meet to get into their dream school. That’s because there’s a third major aspect to standardized testing that you also need to address. Luckily, this post is going to tell you all about it.
What is Test Anxiety?
That third category is the psychological part of test-taking. In other words: Test Anxiety. And you’re not a weirdo—or to blame—if you’re struggling with it. Unfortunately, most test prep programs and tutoring companies don’t directly address this MAJOR issue. Instead, they use what I call the “brute force” approach: they bury you under endless practice problems and work-for-work’s-sake in the vague hope that your score will spontaneously improve with time.
They don’t realize that the missing piece is psychological. No matter how much knowledge is crammed into your brain, if you are one of the many students affected by test anxiety, then you know first-hand how all the new material you drilled yesterday just seems to evaporate the moment the you start reading Question 1 on test day.
I see this all the time, and it can take many forms:
Juniors and Seniors feeling so much pressure from college-apps-mania that they over-analyze themselves to death during a test.
Bright students who second- and third-guess themselves, often changing their correct answers to incorrect choices out of fear.
Students who exhaust so many of their mental resources worrying that they don’t even finish the section at hand. This is a particular bugbear for students who consider themselves to be “bad” at math!
Does one or more of those sound like you? There is hope! Read on.
Ivy Lounge Test Anxiety Strategy #5: Page Turn Zen
You probably agree that if you’re going to give an amazing SAT or ACT performance, you need to calm down. You need to focus. The other posts in my series on Test Anxiety have brought you a slew of strategies for doing so, from making three points of contact while you’re in the testing seat to slaying your studying demons by making “frameworks” for each section of the exam.
Now it’s time to learn about another strategy. It involves learning simply to be present. In the moment. In your body.
How to Stay Relaxed with Page Turn Zen
1) Every time you reach the beginning of a new section of the test, AND every time you are about to turn the page (hence the title of this post), PAUSE.
2) Close your eyes.
3) Take three deep breaths.
4) The entire time you are breathing, notice where you feel the breath in your body.
Now let’s break down why each of these steps works!
You want to begin each section with a clear mind. So, it’s a great practice to begin each section by actively centering yourself for a few moments.
Sometimes—often during a math section—students start to tense up as the problems get increasingly harder. And that’s so understandable! There’s nothing like that very first problem you can’t solve to throw your confidence for a loop. That’s why you are going to STOP the mounting negative energy and return to reality at every page turn.
Closing your eyes helps you remember that no one else in the exam room matters. You are the master of your domain and of your trusty red sweatshirt. For the ten seconds when you do Page Turn Zen, not even that next test question staring back at you from the page can hurt you.
Taking three deep breaths is about the time it takes the average person to relax for 10 or 12 seconds. If you feel nervous that three breaths will take too much time, then please time yourself taking three breaths with your phone stopwatch in advance of Test Day to remind yourself that you are not using up a substantial chunk of time.
You need to take slow breaths to slow down your heart rate, which might be pounding out of your chest at the moment. You need to take deep breaths to get oxygen to all the cells in your body—especially your brain cells!
As you take your three breaths, you are going to focus on the physical sensations you feel in your body. For instance do you feel a tickle in your nose as you inhale? Sweat or warmth on your palms? A stretch in the back of your rib cage? A cold tingle on your upper lip as you exhale? Try to really feel (and, if it’s helpful, mentally describe) the physical sensations as they occur. Be the curious, neutral observer of your own body. No sensation you notice is “right” or “wrong,” nor is there any larger meaning to any of it.
By keeping your attention singularly on your physical sensations for those 10-15 seconds, you are returning to the present moment, nipping over-analysis in the bud, and allowing yourself to get back to your natural state: prepared, intelligent, and efficient.
How Not to Stress Out While Taking the SAT or ACT
To get the best results, you should start practicing this method as soon as you can, in every situation that presents itself! Fortunately, high school provides you with many such opportunities. Diving into your Chem homework? Stop and do Page Turn Zen whenever you are turning a page of your textbook or taking notes on the next page of your notebook. Tackling practice questions of any sort, for your SAT/ACT prep or for your Spanish test? Time for Page Turn Zen. Facing a bunch of Physics problem sets? Practice Page Turn Zen before and during your page turns.
You’ll start feeling the results pretty quickly—that little bit of added calm sneaking in between each page of work. And soon, this practice will be so ingrained that you immediately default to it without having to remind yourself to. And THAT’s how you end up increasing your score by leaps and bounds and utilizing all the knowledge you’ve collected in that pretty brain of yours. ;)
So, while college hopefuls around the world pay top dollar for my standardized test tutoring services, I’m giving you this advice for free, because I sincerely want you get into the college at the top of your list. But if you’d like more tailored test anxiety help—and tailored help with on every other aspect of the SAT and ACT!—reach out to me. I’m excited to help you get your highest possible score.
OR, if private tutoring doesn’t fit your budget or study style, never fear! My online course is perfect for you:
This is a totally digital, totally self-directed video class that will help you slay the dragon of your test anxiety. I walk you through over a DOZEN tricks and strategies for keeping calm and testing on. So if you liked the hack that today’s post had to offer, just imagine the kind of score you can achieve with loads MORE of them!
