The earlier respondent makes a good point: Some test anxiety can certainly be traced back to unpreparedness. If you know next to nothing about what you’ll be tested on, of course there will be anxiety.

However, many times, even prepared students feel that test anxiety. As a tutor myself, I always tell my students to first relax before we begin the lesson. I give copies of a relaxation technique to my students. (second link below).

The best relaxation technique I’ve found is from Dr. Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School. He published a best-selling medical book in 1975 called The Relaxation Response, and it is a true classic. Click on the first link below for information about this book.

Benson’s relaxation method can be found by clicking on the second link below. Please have your students take 15 minutes before their tests to use this method. It will alleviate test anxiety and help them perform at their best.

Also, advise them to get a full night’s sleep before the test, and have them refrain from eating at least two hours before the test. When digesting, blood is diverted to the digestive tract, and they’ll need as much blood as possible to their brains while taking their tests.

Help your students stop getting in their own way by being too anxious: teach them this method of relaxation and they’ll be forever grateful.

Keep up the great work tutoring. Remember, it’s better to give a man a fishing pole than a fish, and you’re giving them fishing poles.