Exams: in the New Normal

“The only good thing about giving an exam is that I have 25% chance of getting my question right” — Unknown

Being a lifelong learner means that you have a growth mindset and you are ready for challenges. To get validation for the learning outcomes you need to be comfortable with exams, tests or assessments. The article below explores what causes exam anxiety and what can be done on exam day to overcome it. Please share your point of view in comments

EXAM: The word comes from

examine (v.)

c. 1300, “put (someone) to question in regard to knowledge, competence, or skill, inquire into qualifications or capabilities;”

What is the emotion that comes to your mind when you think of an exam?

Does it depend on the subject you are appearing for?

Some kids who love maths have no stress in Maths exam but might feel terrified in their second language exam.

Does it depend on the stakes in the exam?

In a recent Linkedin survey we asked the participants whether in their final exam they do better, worse or same as their practice tests.

Does it depend on the preparation?

We believed that most of the people will say worse as the stakes of the final exams are higher, but instead, most of the people said it either gets better or remains the same.

Does it depend on the exam itself?

You would be surprised to know that the way statements are written in the exam also impact your state of mind and hence performance in the exam. Also the difficulty level of the exam should be such that it should take you to learning zone and not in panic zone as shown in the diagram below.

Is it fear or joy?

If it is joy cycle then here is what happens

• You have prepared well and you take care of your mental health and you are gearing to show the world that you really know the subject.
• You enter the examination hall in an excited and joyful state. This state of mind further improves your performance in the exams
• Good performance leads to improved confidence and you continue to do well in future. This joy cycle will continue till you don’t do well.

If fear tries to take over

What can you do if you suddenly find yourself struggling in an exam. You have to create a joy cycle for yourself?

Ref [2] shares 5 tips to manage exam anxiety while appearing for the exam.

1. Challenge Negative Thoughts
2. Remind that you have practiced well in the exam format
3. Guided progressive muscle relaxation
4. Mindfulness: Focus on the present
5. Deep breathing

What if it is an online exam?

These tips are good whether you attempt exam online or go to the exam centre

However, online exams have their own set of pros and cons:

Pros:

1. You take them in your comfort zone. We looked for some research on this and here is what we found[4]

“a state of relative comfort generated a constant level of performance.” — psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson

New experiments confirmed their theory and stated that the motivation and effort to reach a goal increase until the expectation of success or the level of uncertainty reaches 50%, above that figure we begin to demoralize, we lose motivation and the level of anxiety is so high to unbalance and lead us to make mistakes.

2. You do not see what other people are doing: A friend asking for an extra sheet may make you feel that you are lagging. Such anxiety is lesser in online exams as each student can talk to the invigilator directly. So there is less disturbance.

3. There is less risk in reaching the exam hall etc: The travel risk of an online exam is lesser because you only have to travel to your desk.

4. There is possibility of getting instant results: In a lot of cases the evalaution is also digital leading to instant result availability. So there is no post exam anxiety regarding the result.

5. Shy people and introverts: They are more sensitive to their comfort zone.

Cons:

1. You can’t meet your friends for the last minute revisions
2. Asking doubts from teacher regarding questions might be difficult
3. Its not fun :)
4. If there is a technical issue you might panic
5. There are always questions on exam integrity. A recent survey shows that last year trust in online exams has increased. As per [5]. We will discuss more on integrity of exam, honor code and trust in the next blog.

References:

1. How emotions affect logical reasoning: evidence from experiments with mood-manipulated participants, spider phobics, and people with exam anxiety (nih.gov)
2. What can schools do about examination and test anxiety — The Ofqual blog
3. How exams took the joy, and the learning, out of our classrooms — David Thomas’ Blog (davidthomasblog.com)
4. ▷ What is the Comfort Zone — and what’s not? (psychology-spot.com)
5. Instructor — Academic-Integrity-Infographic_Final (uberflip.com)