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IS TEST ANXIETY SABOTAGING YOUR CHILD’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE?
Judith Albright, EFT Practitioner
 

Remember when children’s fears centered mostly on the boogeyman, spooks, hairy monsters and things that go bump in the night?  That was before schools became preoccupied with standardized tests and penalties for poor performance. Today a significant number of children find test taking to be far more terrifying than any monsters they could ever imagine. From elementary school through college, test anxiety has become a serious impairment to academic achievement that is impacting students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds Studies have shown that test anxieties begin to rise sharply in grades 2 — 4, and remain high for the remaining school years. Teenagers in particular rate schoolwork and exams as the greatest source of stress in their lives. According to the American Test Anxiety Association, at least 20% of students feel high to severe test anxiety and another 16% are considered to experience moderate test anxiety. This means than more than one fifth of the children in schools today, or an estimated 10 million children, are seriously impacted in North America alone, and the percentages are increasing. 

Statistically, children who experience severe test anxiety are more likely to perform poorly in school and repeat grades.  These children are more easily distracted.  They frequently eperience mental blocks during an exam, even on questions they know because they blank out or have racing thoughts.  Even the thought of taking a test causes some children to panic and convince themselves they will fail.  Before taking a test, anxious students can actually create a kind of “noise” or “static” in the brain that blocks their capability to recall important nformation. High test anxiety also reduces the ability to comprehend and retain material, making it difficult to reason, concentrate and solve problems.  As a result, students with high anxiety levels core an average of 12 percentile points below their less anxious classmates, which can reduce scores by a half or even a full letter grade. For these students, test results do not accurately reflect preparation or ability.

Yet our society is test oriented, and in many instances a child’s and even a school’s future can hinge on a single test. As schools have been mandated to give annual math and reading tests and hold accountable those that fail to show improvement, test anxiety has understandably ncreased.  Many states make decisions about funding for individual teachers’ and principals’ salaries, and even accreditation of schools based on test scores.  Nearly half of the states in the U.S. require high school seniors to pass a test in order to graduate. As the stakes grow higher, so does the pressure.

While some stress can be a powerful motivator, too much of it can undermine morale and sabotage performance.  According the U.S. Department of Education, students who suffer most from test anxiety tend to be worriers who are extremely self-critical. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success they become paralyzed by fear of failure.  Seldom calling attention to themselves, these students become anxious about being anxious. They feel ashamed of themselves and inadequate about their inadequacies.  Some carry on bravely in spite of their fears while others simply start avoiding schoolwork altogether.

Students with high anxiety levels tend to believe that their feelings are nothing unusual. Therefore, the most prevalent scholastic impairment in our schools today remains largely unidentified and seldom treated. Test anxiety has become so commonplace it is even considered normal. However, a significant number of students will never realize their full academic potential without help managing their anxieties. Without intervention, performance anxieties continue into adulthood, often restricting career choices and interfering with job advancement.  

Thanks to an acupressure technique developed in the last few years, help for test anxiety is literally close at hand.  Introduced in 1995 by Gary Craig, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful self help type of energy therapy that is providing thousands of people with relief from emotionally caused conditions.  Commonly called “needleless acupuncture,” EFT works on the same energy meridians used by traditional acupuncturists for over 5,000 years but without needles. The process is easy to learn and involves a simple protocol of fingertip tapping on key acupressure points while focusing on a specific issue or problem. 

The acupuncture points function as amplifiers that boost electrical signals as they flow throughout the body.  Tapping gently on specific meridians causes the body to release negative emotions, beliefs and traumas and relax into a state of well-being.

EFT is increasingly being used today by medical and mental health professionals around the world because of its effectiveness in treating emotionally based conditions.  Particularly effective in treating fears and phobias, EFT offers children a safe, effective and drug free way to overcome anxieties and increase their academic performance.

Contact Information:
Judith Albright, EFT-CC, EFT-ADV
www.stressfreewitheft.com
E-mail: judith@stressfreewitheft.com

EFT in Schools

by Gary Craig

Hi Everyone,

Our schools need us–and we need them. In fact, schools may be the entryway by which EFT’s public recognition will escalate.

A big thank you to Sandy Sperry, Director of Prevention Services for the Peoria Unified School District (Arizona) for sowing an EFT seed that will likely sprout into a bountiful garden for our youth. It takes someone with Sandy’s dedication to plant this “strange but wondrous thing” within the politics and diverse opinions of academic soil.

She recently brought together 60 school personnel for a 4 day EFT workshop that I was privileged to conduct. Two days were spent in a thorough explanation of EFT and two days were spent in actual school settings where I assisted counselors in applying EFT to some of their most challenging students. Some had been doing EFT for over a year, but most were beginners. When we were done, just about everyone was enthusiastic. We appear to have nudged a snowball down the academic hill.

From all outward appearances, I was the teacher during this event. After all, I was the founder–the guy with all the answers. But I soon realized that I was also the student. I learned great lessons from these dedicated and caring professionals. I saw compassion and talent. I saw the power of patience. I saw flexibility, love and a willingness to learn. I was, without question, walking among the true heroes in our society–the molders and shapers of our youth. When was the last time you said thank you to one of them?

These heroes put up with modest pay while doing a balancing act between administrative rules and concerned parents. They deal with student angers, fears and frustrations and, in the process, they must be friends, mentors and authorities to emotionally challenged children. Sometimes they get thank you’s and sometimes they get criticism. Whatever the response, they are building foundations for our youth. What could be more important? Yet we give more applause to a basketball player than we do to our school counselors, teachers and administrative personnel. Sometimes we wave our flags in the wrong direction.

I repeat. They are our heroes.

And, even though most of them were beginners, I watched them put EFT to quality use. One example was a 6 year old ADD child who had been undergoing the persistent use of EFT for several weeks. According to his teacher, he had made great progress in paying attention and making “better choices.” I saw no sign of ADD behavior during the time I was with him.

More examples: I watched one school counselor use EFT to rapidly reduce the emotional angst of two boys–one whose father was murdered and one whose father had left the home and wasn’t coming back. Further, one young girl had just fallen and severely cracked her toes on the concrete. Two brief rounds of EFT and the pain subsided. I also watched other children calm down within minutes over anger at recent playground events. Another girl gained relief from two intense bad memories in 15 minutes. And on it went. Not every application of EFT met with immediate results, of course. Just like with adults, some children have major issues that have many aspects and require both time and artistry for proper relief. But that will happen in time.

What better time to introduce EFT to someone than when they are young? If we can relieve a learning disability, a fear or an ever present anger and thus change the direction of a child’s life by a mere 5 degrees, that shift in direction can mean the difference for some children between graduating from high school or dropping out. It can mean the difference between going to college or menial jobs. It can give some children the self confidence to say no to drugs and THAT, of course, is life changing.

With EFT, however, we don’t have to be satisfied with a 5 degree shift. We can use it to address a wide variety of problems and make shifts ranging from 30 to 180 degrees. We can shift test scores for a whole school from mediocrity towards academic excellence. We can turn those headed for drugs and prisons into productive citizens. We can return safety to our schools and inject more enthusiasm and acceptance into our classrooms. It’s an “everyone wins” proposition.

Are you a parent? Do you have children in schools? What about grandchildren? Can you introduce EFT into your school system? Can you plant a seed like Sandy Sperry has done? It starts with someone knocking on the door. If a few parents get together and ask for it, the school system must listen. If more parents demand it, even the most resistant school system must open their minds to it. Parents, after all, are among the most influential political forces in our schools.

Hugs, Gary

Taken from http://www.emofree.com