Test Anxiety and The Olympics

The Science of Choking Under Pressure

With the Olympics about to commence, I remembered an interesting article I read ten years ago in the Smithsonian Magazine about the power of performance anxiety and how even the most successful, prepared professional athletes fumble or “choke” when it’s time to shine.

The parallels to test day are obvious:

Your success as an applicant is strongly impacted by your test scores, you will likely only take the test one or two times, and while you have prepped, you can’t predict exactly which questions will appear on the test. The weight of the event, the unpredictability of it all…it’s the perfect storm for even the most prepared, calm-mannered test taker.

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For anyone with even a little anxiety, it’s borderline debilitating. Test prep combined with performance management can help you prepare by practicing

• the test (familiarity)
• correcting and learning the right answers in areas of difficulty (knowledge)
• learning to pace yourself (time management)
• calming and focusing the mind (mindfulness).

These four components are your keys to success.

If you’re ready to take the next step in leveraging our expertise to maximize your child’s options, connect with us here.