Testing season can be one of the most stressful times of the year for students. According to a study done by the APA, roughly 20% of students have high test anxiety, and 87% feel like standardized testing amplifies their stress. So, in the spirit of the season, WSS asked students about their experiences with test stress and how they deal with it.
Grades are one of the biggest stressors for students. An estimated 72% of high school students reported they feel stressed about doing well on tests because of their grades. Finnely Bonfig ’26 is one of them.
“I’m mostly worried that [my] grade will drop and I won’t get an A,” Bonfig said.
However, a lot of pressure on students to do well on tests can come from other sources. Bonfig talked about how pressure from others has caused them stress on tests.
“It’s a lot of pressure, especially when people are constantly reminding you how important grades are and at the same time telling you to chill out,” said Bonfig.
Finnley’s sentiment is shared by many others, as 61% of American teens have reported increased stress in producing satisfactory grades.
There are many ways to help with test anxiety. One of those ways is to be prepared by studying ahead of time. We asked Vishak Bala-Subramanian ‘27 about how he starts preparing for a test.
“Usually, I’ll start reviewing when the teacher announces the date for the test,” said Bala-Subramanian, “But most of the hard studying is done 3 days before the test.”
Students have also reported that using different methods of studying for a big test has also lowered their stress levels leading up to and during the test. Levi Hodge ‘27 shared how he studies for a big test.
“Sometimes I’ll use my flashcards and I’ll usually go back and look at my homework to get a good idea of what to expect.” said Hodge.
These strategies work for a lot of students, as students reported feeling much less stressed after studying and feeling prepared for the test.
Many students feel stressed by certain subjects more than others due to varying difficulties between them. Vishak Bala-Subramanian ‘27 shared what subjects he finds have the hardest tests.
“I would say probably AP Human is the hardest, but Geometry Honors is definitely close behind,” said Bala-Subramanian.
Students nationwide seem to agree with Vishak, as many reported AP courses and more advanced math courses as their hardest subjects and tests.
However, many of the students we interviewed reported that their world language course also has harder and more stressful tests. Christopher Capozzi ‘27 shared his opinion on why.
“It’s a whole different challenge. Taking a test in a different language, even if it’s a [simple] topic, adds another level of difficulty and stress,” said Capozzi.
So, after reviewing what makes tests stressful for students and asking students here at West their opinions, we identified 3 changes that students say could help them feel less stress with tests:
- More time on tests.
Many students believe that the time crunch on tests is what causes them more stress.
- More broken-down tests.
Students we asked felt that lots of their stress came from the worry of failing a big test. Smaller, more broken-down, tests could help with that.
- Less weight on tests.
Lots of students say their stress comes from the overall weight of tests on their grades.
