For Those Who Have Been to College

Just because the "smart" kids are having trouble, doesn't mean he will. Is there a practice test he can take? Something online? Google HVAC tests and see that comes up. If he can, have him do several. It will get him used to the format and point him in the right direction of study if he gets any of the answers wrong.

Good Luck!

Maybe this can help a bit.

Right now your son thinks that the test is the enemy. It isn't. It's his anxiety that is the enemy. He doesn't have to compare to any other student in the class. He doesn't have to be Superman.

He just has to pass the test. Once he goes into the testing room, his preparation is done, and there's nothing else but to do the best he can on the silly thing and be done with it.

If he's looking at the test and saying to himself, "Wow, this is hard," then he's not thinking about the test. If he's looking at it and thinking, "I wish I weren't in this room," he's not thinking about the test. If he's thinking, "I don't know if I know the answer," he's not thinking about the test. In all those cases, he's thinking about himself instead.

He's thinking about the test - and that's where his mind should be - if he's thinking, "Oh. Question two. Well, I know *that* choice is not the right answer. I'll take a look at the other choices."

He should not be thinking about what will happen next week or what anybody may think of him or what time it is. If he finds he is, he needs to get his brain back to where his body is.

Encourage him to get into the world of the test questions, eliminate the answers that don't work, and find the best answer possible. If he doesn't have to do the questions in a set order, he could look down the page first; he'll find some he can answer confidently right away. Then he can start dealing with the other ones. All he can do is all he can do; that's the way it is with any of us when we're testing.

This is what I had to do in college and in high school. If that test was "just something to do," I did much better than when I wondered what awful thing would happen to me if I failed. If I did fail, once I found out it hadn't actually killed me I could pick myself up and go talk to the teacher about how I could do better. I still do that.

I don't know anything about your son's sort of study or how often people can test for a license. I do know that in some fields people may, and often have to, test more than once. My husband is a CPA and the exam is unbelievably difficult. He took it once, didn't pass, said, "All right - now I know what to study more," and took it again.

Talk to him about what the perfect scenario would be for him to test. By himself? With music on? No sound? Really make him reflective about his best situation while testing. What happens when he starts to test? Sweaty hands? Heart races? Distracting thoughts? He needs to zero in on what his body does and his mind thinks and work on those to decrease anxiety.

Does the school he attends have a resource room for LD kids? Could he make a special arrangement to take the test by himself, with headphones, etc.? If he really knows his stuff, I would guess a teacher would allow some things like this to allow him to test well. If he had an IEP in high school, does the school have a program or support system for students like him? A lot of community colleges do.

Does he have to take the license test at a hall somewhere off campus? Would it help if he were to visit the place before hand? Take some of the stress and nerves off by knowing where it is, where he will park, and know what the room looks like?

He probably can't have headphones, but he could imagine that he has them in and he is listening to what he likes. Square breathing helps too. Breath in 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts....repeat. This helps my body pay attention to what it needs and lets me focus better. He could do this after 3 questions.

If he goes in with a plan, it will help. Also, some test taking stategies always help. In MC there is almost always an answer that is a ridculous one. If he is allowed to (he should ask) he should cross off answers he KNOWS are not the right ones before deciding among the others. He should watch for the words, ALWAYS, NEVER, SOMETIMES and the negatively worded questions using the word NOT. Is there a local tutor that could help him with this and build some confidence?

Best of luck to him! I'm sure he know HOW to do it, but testing is necessary to prove it in our society. Back in the day, he would have been an apprentice and proven his stuff by DOING it.

Well, I teach college and find that there are a lot of students that have test anxiety. Being prepared for the exam can help but it's pretty much in their personality. Can he re-take the exam if necessary?

Stress reduction techniques are a good bet. Deep breathing, picturing a relaxing place....

The anxiety will be his enemy during the exam, make sure he stops and breathes during the exam every few minutes. Have him answer the questions he for sure knows first. Then he can go back and work on the ones he is iffy about. Otherwise, he might psych himself into answering questions he knows incorrectly because he is draining his mind from obsessing about the questions he does not know.

I have always had severe anxiety before tests:( What worked for me was do as much studying as I possibly could, but also take breaks. Does he have anyone that can quiz him on the material like another classmate? That helps too. I would study for 20 minutes, then take a 10 minute break. I would either listen to music during my break, take a walk, or just meditate. This helped me immensely. Also, being very organized with the study material is very helpful. A friend of mine who has ADD increases her medication which helps her focus better when she has to study for exams. Aside from those suggestions, eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of rest helps the mind retain material.

It's possible he can arrange for a less stressful test taking environment (for instance, working by himself on the test instead of in a roomful of anxious test takers). Otherwise, preparation is the best way to counter test taking anxiety. It's more than just studying, although studying is essential. With formal exams, the actual format of the test can throw people off when they go in to take it. There are resources out there (and yes, you usually have to pay a good bit, but it may be a worthwhile investment), that will help your son prepare for the test with practice exams and other exercises to get him ready to face the real thing. If he couples this with thorough study of the material, he should be ready for it. You can also tell him that "very smart kids" sometimes get overly confident about their abilities when it comes to test taking and that can bite them in the backside when test time rolls around. It's not necessarily an indication of how hard the test is.

I was was able to take my test in a separate room not timed.. Have him talk to his teachers or school consolers.. It helped me so much!

Talk to his doctor about meds that can help with test anxiety. One of my brothers has horrible test anxiety. He had to take a test to become a golf pro, which he was very nervous about. He got some meds, I believe they were called beta blockers, that helped him tremendously. I think he just had to take them right before the test, nothing long term. Might be worth looking into. Good luck to him! (Lord knows we need good HVAC people in Texas!)

Can he practice with another test - like a release TAKS test? (google "Taks release test" and you will see plenty of practice exams. Not the same subject matter, but it would let him see what 4 choices look like. Were his tests in HS in a larger print as well? That's a common iep accomodation. Would showing him a regular type of test prepare him or freak him out more? Think about that.

I agree that taking short breaks would help too. Talk to his teacher, or have him do so. I would imagine he could take breaks. I mean, the teacher/professor likely can see his high school records and see that he did have accomodations just a year ago and be sympathetic. Those 'brain breaks' really helped many of my 5th graders when I taught. Every 10 questions they took a break, walked down the hall (there were hall monitors), got a drink of water, came back and did ten more questions.

Perhaps give him a good luck charm (a gold $1 coin) or something else you think he would find special. To you and me it may seem silly, but I have seen children holding their good luck charms during exams, or placing it on their desk. Even if it's a picture of you and him and you tell him that you're so proud of him no matter what, seeing your picture while he takes the exam might help. Or write words of enouragement on his pencil in Sharpie (so long as people don't think he's cheating).

If he thinks he can hold it down, give him a good breakfast of protein like scrambled eggs and bacon.

@ Mary -- well said! D. - eliminating answers is what he could practice doing with the old TAKS tests or any test you could make for him.

He clearly cannot control his anxiety. Many of us have this problem. There are lots of natural things he can try. As silly as it sounds, it really is effective. Have him go for a hard run before studying. A hard workout really does release natural chemicals in the body that are calming. He can also take a magnesium supplement (like Natural Calm by Natural Vitality; we like the Raspberry Lemon flavor). You can buy this at Natural Grocers, Whole Foods, places like that. What works even better is a prescription for Xanax. Not going to be a popular suggestion by some. It is very addictive so he needs to be sure to be very careful with them. I got an Rx last year and I have only taken 4 in the last year. They have really helped on the handful of days that I was so anxious I could hardly function. I would not recommend a long term antidepressant. I tried them once in my life and there were side effects I couldn't live with. Weaning off of them was a very difficult process! They will definitely help him keep his cool to study and to be able to focus when he takes the test. Poor guy, I know how he feels. It's so easy to tell someone that they need to just calm down but when you suffer from unreasonable anxiety, you simply cannot control it to save your life.

Will they allow him to re-take the test? It sounds like he may need to just take it as many times as necessary to get the level he wants.

Tell him you know he can do it, he studied hard and did his work to get to this point. Also point out the the "smart kids" get more questions and 4 multiple choice answers... he gets an easier test.

I know that in baccalaureate and graduate-level courses there is a department of accommodations that works with students who have bona fide issues. I was diagnosed with MS before starting Grad school. I have some cognitive issues because of it. I was fortunate to not need to register with the office of accommodations because my Dean and my instructors knew where I "was" and were able to help. I also took one class at a time for most quarters.

Is there such an office in the technical school your son attends? I would think they would have the ability to make accommodations for whatever your son's special need(s) is/are. Has he done an apprenticeship? Was he successful? Those are the things that you can help him focus back on to alleviate some of his anxiety.

As far as the test anxiety - I would get some help from the school.

Best wishes for your family - your son especially!