Do any of your dc suffer from extreme test anxiety?

[Laura in VA]

My son was to take the SAT this morning (it's Saturday in Japan). He got sick twice before we left the house and once in the car. He was unable to take it last fall as well (due to anxiety).

 

It's not a matter of being unprepared.

 

:sad:

[Chris in VA]

Hi Laura! How ARE you!:D

Ds would get somewhat anxious but not to that point. Did he do alright on the test Saturday?

Hope you and the other kids are doing well. Are you coming home soon?:DTell AG that M says hi!

[Laura in VA]

Hi Laura! How ARE you!:D

Ds would get somewhat anxious but not to that point. Did he do alright on the test Saturday?

Hope you and the other kids are doing well. Are you coming home soon?:DTell AG that M says hi!

 

Hey Chris! He was not able to take the test. We'll try again in the fall.

 

We are all doing well. Dh has been in Afghanistan for 7 1/2 months, but will be coming home in about 1 week! :)

 

I think of you often! We miss you guys.

[ZooRho]

I'm sorry that is so tough.

 

I know that some get really stressed about what the test means. BUT in the end it is just ONE test, one component of the application process for college. There are actually colleges now that don't require the SAT.

 

Has he done some practice SAT test in a test like situation?

[TravelingChris]

Have you considered taking him in to get medication for anxiety? My dd has been diagnosed with GAD and she has all sorts of things she is anxious about though not testing. She is on Lexapro and that has definitely helped her a great deal. Her psychologist is also helping her by giving her exercises that do help. She has actually stopped screaming about spiders and now can ask for help calmly or with smaller ones, pick up a shoe and kill it. This is the difference from a child who was considering which colleges to attend based on spider populations.

[AngieW in Texas]

Have you tried having him take an SAT class somewhere? The place where my dd took her SAT class offered a practice SAT 2x/month. It was an absolutely zero pressure situation because the score didn't go anywhere, but it was scored just like it was real.

 

I know there was an organization that did a similar thing for free in our area a few months ago.

 

Otherwise, I'd see about medication for anxiety. It sounds like it's at a level where it's disabling.

[newbie]

Both my dd's do poorly on timed tests, they know the info., but dont like to be pressured.

 

Even though I picked a site where there was only 5 other kids, it went bad, she came out bawling. We just hoped she kind of did okay. Her score was good, but she did not want to ever do that again. Understandable.

 

Like others said there are many schools who dont require SAT or ACT.

[mcconnellboys]

We haven't exactly gotten to throwing up yet, just trying to make ourselves do that..... sigh..... Sorry. I'm combatting this, too, and not sure how to overcome it..... (and it's not just with tests, but with other situations that I can't always predict will cause it ahead of time....)

[TravelingChris]

One big reason I have for suggesting medical intervention and maybe counseling is that even if your child gets into a college without a SAT or ACT they do have to do tests once in college. FUrthermore, most colleges that allow no SAT or ACT test seem to require either such a test for homeschoolers or another test like SAT 2 or AP. I don't think that those tests would help any with the anxiety. Being anxious at a level where the child has some sleeping issues the night before and chews their fingernails off is one level . Throwing up and simply being unable to force oneself to do the test is a whole other level. Proper medication could make this whole problem go away.