The 2nd year Diploma Programme (IB) students at Casvi Villaviciosa have just started the final exams that will lead them to the coveted diploma. A situation in which exam stress can be a reality for many of them. According to psychology professor Giuseppe Iandolo, “between 15% and 25% of students experience high levels of anxiety before the assessment”. Why does this stress arise, who is most prone to it, how can we work to avoid it, and most importantly, how do we do it? And most importantly, how do we do it at Eurocolegio Casvi International Private School?
All anxiety is a reaction to the anticipation of something stressful, in this case, exams. It affects both the body and the mind. When a person is under stress, their body releases a hormone called adrenaline, which prepares them to react to danger. This is what causes bodily symptoms such as sweating, pounding in the chest and rapid breathing.
Focusing on the bad things that can happen also feeds exam stress. If we have too many thoughts like “what if I blank?” or “what if the exam is too hard?”, there will be no space left in our minds to focus on the exam questions.
According to Elena Gallegos, a therapist at UNINPSI, people who tend to worry a lot about things or who are very perfectionist are more likely to have problems with exam stress. So are students who have not prepared well for the exam, but who nevertheless care about doing well. Students who may come from any of the IB programmes at Casvi Villaviciosa -PYP (Infant and Primary), MYP and DP.
This analysis leads university lecturer Fernando Miralles to explain that the problem lies in society and its ever-increasing demand. “In Baccalaureate, students already have to decide what they want to do in the future, so the stress starts earlier”.
There are many strategies that can reduce exam stress. Some can even be found in the anxiety reaction itself. When you feel stress, your heart rate increases to pump more blood to your brain, lungs and muscles, which in turn increases your ability to concentrate. That’s why a little nervousness before an exam is normal and can even help sharpen the mind and focus attention.
However, according to psychologist Guillermo Ballenato, the important thing is to adjust the level of anxiety to a medium point, given that “adequate performance is obtained at medium levels of activation”.
But there are more ways to reduce exam stress:
