Test Prep Books/Effective Study Skills for Test Taking Anxiety

Is there a pill for test stress? No.  Do I have a bag of magic tricks? No.

There’s no kit with a top hat and a wand that you wave over your head and then
Presto! You can now sail through tests without studying and without concentrating.

I can show you what to do. You have to finish the job.

For some people, that’s not an easy thing.

It isn’t that the information is hard or the message indirect. The material presented here is very direct and clear. The problem is that they don’t particularly want to work for a solution to their problem. They want someone else to solve their problems for them.

Perhaps they’re hoping THE WORKBOOK will do it. On its own, by itself, no. But with your full participation, yes.

Over the years, I have discovered that there are two groups of people: those who are ready to work for change and those who want a quick fix.

The latter often come into my office cramped with anxiety over an upcoming test. After the first session, they are filled with hope and enthusiasm. They come to the second session all pumped up saying, “This is great, I get it.” But several weeks later they call or e-mail, moaning in a most painful way, “Oh, Dr. B, I’m still so stressed out! I haven’t done any of the exercises you gave me. Do you have any more tips?”

Yes, I do have lots of “tips,” but what good will they do if the person won’t follow them anymore than they worked with my original tips?

If you want results, you have to follow the coaching.

My goal is, you become your own coach.

There’s no way around it.

And if you follow through, the rewards are great. I have watched high school seniors raise their SAT scores by 200 to 300 points. I’ve seen doctors ace
strenuous licensing exams. Outside the classroom, I’ve watched as athletes win games and musicians succeed at auditions.

And in the other arenas of life that we don’t ordinarily call a test environment, people who practice being calm, confident and focus become their personal best.

Here’s the tip.  First, think about the qualities in a coach  you would prize. What are they? Write them down. Next, what would you want a coach  you trusted say to you? Write that down.  Now, close your eyes. Breathe out. Look into a mirror and see yourself as the coach you would trust with the qualities you would prize. What’s the message your coach gives  you?  Hear it. Receive it. Open your eyes. Write down the message. Now, follow the coaching.  It’s that simple: you just have to do it.

THE WORKBOOK FOR TEST SUCCESS is my coaching program. As one commentator said, it is “an astonishing rendition of what it is liked to be coached personally by Dr. Bernstein.”