There are specific things teachers can do to help reduce the anxiety students may feel before a standardized test.

Help students manage any stress they may feel about the test.

• Help students see the test in context. A test is one "snapshot" of the student's performance on a certain day. Knowing this might help students feel less stress about the test.

Review good test-taking practices with students. Remind students to

• read the directions thoroughly and make sure they understand the directions before beginning a test section.
• avoid spending too much time on one question. If students find themselves stumped by a particular question, they may want to go on, returning to that question once they have finished the rest of the section.
• work at their own speed. Students may need to be reminded to focus on themselves and their own work, and ignore other students who seem to be working faster or who may finish the test early.
• go back and check their work.