Test Prep Books/Effective Study Skills for Test Taking Anxiety

The right answer? Strengthen yourself.

The Silicon Valley Mercury News today published an article today about the SAT and ACT. Author Purvy Mody starts off by saying “The words SAT and ACT can conjure anxiety for even the most academically confident student. Standardized testing has become so talked about and so prepared for that I have heard of fifth-graders enrolling in SAT prep classes — something I am highly against.”

5th graders prepping for the SAT?  AYK?  (are you kidding?)

Mody ends the article with this: “Take a class if you need the structure, or get the official books and practice on your own. Whatever method you use, the most important thing is Read the rest of this entry »

When you hit a wall: grow something slowly. You will break through.

One of the things test stress can do is get you to feel like you can’t do anything. You feel like you’ve hit a wall.  Everything looks too big, too insurmountable, too daunting.  You shut down and collapse. Some people  spin in place. The talk in your head sounds like this:  There’s too much to do, I’ll never be able to accomplish what I want to, I won’t do well… on and on. [If this happens to you I'm sure you know what I'm talking about and could supply your own script].

This kind of talk is, literally, self-defeating. The way things work is on a

Read the rest of this entry »

What's your body doing?

Let’s start out with this rule of thumb: 

When you are thinking of of an upcoming test (or anything else in the future), remember to breathe.

Here’s a very common experience for test-takers:  “My test is next Tuesday (or tomorrow). YIKES!” Your heart rate goes up, your blood starts rushing, your stomach wrenches. You know the routine.

I don’t know about you, but often, when I’m thinking about something that I have coming up later today or tomorrow or next week (and it doesn’t have to be as stressful as a test), I find myself getting a little amped up. What do I mean by “amped up”?  Read the rest of this entry »

Barack Obama faces big tests daily:  the economy, the war, international crises, opposition in Congress… the list goes on.  Whatever you think of his politics, one thing we can all agree on is that he possesses the three traits necded for success in any stressful, test-type situation: He is calm, he is confident, and he is focused.

He never loses his cool, he never seems dejected or bitter at a loss, and it certainly doesn’t make him lose steam and he is never off-message.

He is a good role model for facing important tests: staying calm, keeping confident, and being focused is the key.

These are the skills that should be part of any leadership training. Leaders are constantly tested. They have to face moment-by-moment challenges, and we trust that they will do that. Have you ever considered that we are really trusting them to stay calm, confident and focused?  Imagine a leader who is tense, doubtful and distracted.  That doesn’t define “leader.”  Calm, confident and focused do.

If you are in a leadership position, or you are training others to be leaders, consider that for the vitality of the organization and the well-being of its members, you want to cultivate the three qualities in The Workbook. We want, and value, leaders who stand on a sturdy three-legged stool. Leaders who are calm, confident and focused.

What are the qualities you value in a leader?

In a most interesting article in yesterday’s Washington Post, reporter Nelson Hernandez covered a story at a local middle school. He wrote, “Schools these days focus mostly on preparing students for tests of reading and math, but during lunchtime at Kenmoor Middle School in Landover, the youngsters sitting in a small circle were tackling the really deep questions: Ethics. Fairness. How to split dessert.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Charles make the model his own

Want the best way to reduce your test anxiety?  Personalize the training model I present in the book.

I gave a talk at Oregon Health Sciences University, School of Dentistry, last week and one of the 3rd year students, Charles Nguyen, took the 3 legged stool and ran with it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Talking about his family, President Obama said, “And part of our job as parents — Michelle and my job — is not just to tell our kids what to do, but to start instilling in them a sense that they want to do it for themselves.”

I remember a high school student  brought in by her parents. I asked her, “Do you know why you are here?” She immediately replied, “Yes. My parents want me to get higher SAT score. And I don’t want to work for it.”

Then the three of them leaned in. All eyes were on me…

Read the rest of this entry »

I had an email this morning from a college student:  “I’m having trouble with feeling overwhelmed. Midterms are coming up and I feel like I can’t catch up. I don’t know where to start. What should I do?”

This is a familiar feeling to anyone who is or has been a student. (In fact, it’s a familiar feeling to everyone. We all have too much going on and too little time to get it all done).

My advice to the student is simple: “Start somewhere. You are sitting there feeling overwhelmed, so of course you have a problem with feeling overwhelmed. Start doing something.  Take out one book for one subject and read one chapter or a part of the chapter. This will put you on course for feeling like you’re doing something because… you are!”

This touches on issues of confidence, calm and focus. In my book I talk about the three legged stool– one leg each for each of the qualities. If you say “I can’t…” you are having a confidence problem. It will make you feel all nervous (lack of calm), and you will be distracted (inability to focus). The solution I am proposing is taking a step (focus), making it small and manageable (to build your confidence), and all of that will help you calm down.  Try it.