How to Overcome GED Math Anxiety?

Understanding Test Anxiety

Test Anxiety Is Normal

When it comes to having anxiety during a test, it happens to everyone. But the truth is test anxiety goes beyond that. It’s so serious that even students who are fully prepared for a test do have this psychological experience. And as a result, while sitting for a test, they tend to suffer both emotional and physical stress. In fact, some literally quit the test venue to overcome these enormous agitations.

As you’re about to take a test, it’s normal for you to become nervous concerning what the outcome will be. The good thing about having few butterflies in your stomach during this time is that it helps you gather all the necessary resources to prepare well for the test.

But when the anxiety goes to the extreme, it becomes abnormal and it can impact negatively your performance. You should learn how to manage your anxiety to avoid its negative impacts on your performance.

Why Test Anxiety?

Test anxiety can be attributed to many factors and some of these causative factors include inadequate preparation, phobia for failure, lack of self-confidence, history of poor test performance, genetics, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Fear of failure is what affects many anxiety sufferers. This can be very bad because it makes you want to doubt yourself and end up having a negative and fretting attitude of what-ifs – I can’t answer the questions correctly, don’t make it into grad school, disappoint my parents, and lots more.

Some people have simply become so tensed with the feeling of anxiety that they don’t see anything normal about anxiety other than seeing it as a disaster.

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Test Anxiety Symptoms

While symptoms of test anxiety could among many other factors be emotional, physical, and cognitive, typical and worst symptoms occur during the test.

You start having sensations similar to a panic attack – your heartbeat becomes faster than before, you lose your sense of coordination, your head feels disconnected, your hand becomes cold and you start having gastrointestinal distress.

How to Overcome Test Anxiety

While there are many simple tips a GED test-taker can follow to overcome test anxiety, there are no one-size-fits-all tips for test-takers. So you need to experiment with different suggestions and strategies and stick to what works best for you. In fact, some of the tips are no-brainers but others can be very strange to you. Try as many of the following options as possible and don’t forget you might need to seek professional help if nothing works for you.

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Top 10 Tips to Beat GED Math Anxiety

1- Eat Nutritious Foods.

Skipping those junk foods and eating healthy and nourishing food is the first habit you need to inculcate not just on the exam day but always. You should avoid high sugar foods and any foods that can ignite jitteriness. 

2- Get enough Rest.

Many people get it wrong here and so they think they only need good sleep the night before the exam. This is far from the truth. In fact, you need good and regular sleep for better academic performance and to soothe your anxiety.

3- Engage in Aerobic Exercise.

There are many benefits you can derive from engaging in aerobic exercise and one of them is that it helps increase your breathing and heart rate. By trying different relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, tensing and relaxing different muscle groups, mindfulness work, mediation, visualization, positive self-talk or yoga, etc. you can overcome anxiety.

4- Study for the test.

I know this may sound obvious to you but it’s the truth about why many test-takers get nervous during a test. So to avoid this, make sure you prepare fully for the test at least a week before the test. Try to review every difficult concept and understand the key aspects of your material before the test day. This way you’ll be able to boost your confidence and overcome test anxiety.

5- Practice Positive Affirmations.

Positive affirmation is a concept introduced by neuroscientists in the 1970’s and it has gone viral since its introduction. It’s a concept that involves repeating mentally or verbally short verses to help change your feelings about something. You can also apply to how you feel about math by mentally or verbally repeating positive affirmations.

Some of these positive affirmations are:

 “I’m smart and I can solve any math problems”.

“I have a good and brilliant brain to solve math problems.”

“All I need to solve math problems are attention and focus. And so math is never a difficult subject”.

“I believe I have done all the necessary preparations and so I ace the GED math test”.

The only way to overcome anxiety associated with the GED math test is by learning to control your fear and anxiety. And the only way to make this easy for you is by fully preparing for the GED math test.

THINGS TO DO ON TEST DAY

6- Be Punctual.

Arriving early at the test venue will go a long way to helping you overcome test anxiety. But you’ll worsen the situation if you get there late. So make sure you get to the test room early so you can get seated, organized, and take a deep breath before the test commences.

7- Employ good test-taking skills. 

Good test-taking skills involve your ability to plan adequately for the test. This can include reading and following instructions carefully, managing time allocated effectively, attempting easier questions first before the difficult ones, and then finally cross-checking and reviewing your answers before your time expired.

8- Take a deep breath.

There is every possibility that anxiety starts building up at any time. Don’t panic but take a deep breath and remember the “positive affirmation” to calm it down.

GENERAL TIPS

9- Ask for help.

Don’t hesitate to seek professional help (such as doctors or counselors) if you think you can’t quiet the fear and anxiety all alone. You can find out further to see what protections there are for you under the Americans with Disabilities Act and if you qualify for test-taking accommodations such as a quiet room or additional time.

10- Consult your family physician.

Also, discuss with your family physician whether you might need medication to quiet your anxiety. Don’t just keep it to yourself as opening up to fellow sufferers, counselors, and therapists may help you alleviate the feeling. 

How to prepare for the GED test Day

Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” You need to apply this principle in preparing for your GED test. How this works is by first figuring out what to expect on the GED test day.  In this part of the article, we shall work you through the steps to take to prepare for the day.

Accessing the GED test

While you sign up for the GED test, you’re given options to choose the GED testing center and the time of the test. By doing this, you already know your test location and time of the test. So you should endeavor to arrive at the venue at least 30 minutes ahead of the test time.

The point is if you arrive late you may be denied entry into the test venue and you’ll lose your fee.

So once you arrive, you’ll be asked to show your identification. The only ID acceptable by GED Testing Service is a government-issued form of ID such as State ID, Passport, Driver’s license, etc.). The ID must have not expired and show your data as follows:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Signature
• Photograph

Also, it’s important that the name you registered with matches the one on your ID. If your state has separate identification requirements to prove residency, make sure you check with your state before the day to know what you need to bring.

GED testing room

On what you can bring to the testing room, you’ll only be given three erasable note boards and a marker. Apart from these two, you may not be allowed to bring anything else.

However, the rules as to what you can or can’t bring to the testing room vary by state. So you should check with your state before the test day to know what items are not allowed.

GED allows retaking GED modules multiple times but if you fail a GED subtest, you can retake that part twice at a reduced rate.

In most cases, personal belongings such as wallets, book bags, food, purses, hats, and many more are some of the items you’re prohibited to bring to the testing room.

Without a doubt, cell phones are also one of the items you’re strictly prohibited from bringing into the testing room. If you’re caught with a phone, you’ll be expelled from the test room and your test will not be scored.  And, if you’re to retake the test, you’ll need to pay a new fee.

While most testing centers will provide storage facilities, this will be limited and so you should arrive at the venue early if you plan to use it. However, the best thing is to keep your belongings at home or in your car.

The use of a calculator is allowed but for only limited portions of math, science, and social studies. Apart from the hand-held calculator, there will be an on-screen calculator for you to use for questions that might require using a calculator.

However, you may not be comfortable with the on-screen calculator and need to bring your hand-held calculator. In that case, the only mode allowed for a hand-held calculator is the TI-30XS Multiview Scientific Calculator. 

Taking the GED test

The test is computer-based, which means you’ll be provided with a computer workstation and logging details. Once you log onto the system, the test will automatically load.

The GED test comprises four separate modules and each module can be completed separately. In the testing fields, there are Mathematical Reasoning, Science, Social Studies, and Reasoning through Language Arts.  The tests are offered in English and Spanish.

The test begins at the same time for every test taker. And, once the test starts, you are not allowed to leave the room for whatever reason. If you leave, you’ll be denied entry into the room and your test will not be marked.

If you keep your personal belongings in storage, you can only access them at scheduled breaks and lunches.

After the GED test

Since this is a computer-based test, your test scores are calculated and made available within three hours of taking the exam. As soon as the scores are ready, you can check them out under the “My Scores” tab on your MyGED page.

GED test scores are presented in an “Enhanced Score Report.” By this, your scores are broken down in numerical value highlighting your strength and weakness areas of the test. And you’ll also see in the areas of the report you need to improve if you didn’t ace the test.

Finally, the decision and control are fully yours to decide what attitude you want to have towards mathematics. And you alone can choose between following or disregarding an effective study plan. There are so many resources here available for your math experiences, tutoring, videos, or handouts.

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