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Posts Tagged ‘Test Anxiety’

After using EFT for over two years on a variety of school related issues, I decided to gather and record data to show how effective EFT can be for relieving anxieties in children and thereby improving academic performance and test results.

Each week my grade three and four students are given a math test in which they strive to complete 100 basic multiplication or division facts in ten minutes.

A few months ago, I told my class that because they were getting so quick at multiplication, I was going to reduce their time from ten minutes to eight. I knew this would create some anxiety.

Before the first test my students recorded and measured their level of anxiety on a scale from 0 – 10.  They completed that test without using EFT.

The second test was taken a few days later, after we used EFT to address their fears.  Before the test we tapped as a group about their worries, as well as on their stress-related physical symptoms, such as rapid heartbeat, dry throat, mind blocks, churning stomach, etc.

Here are the results of the two tests: (Student names have been changed.)

These results show a significant increase in many students’ test scores.  It is evident that once test related anxiety is addressed and released through the use of EFT, students are capable of reaching their potential in exam situations.

Many teachers are excited at the thought of teaching EFT to their students but are hesitant to try for a variety of reasons.  Some worry about objections from parents or administrators, while others are unsure of how to begin.  Here are some simple and practical ideas which I hope will encourage you to try tapping with your students.

When you introduce EFT to your class, make it useful, relevant and fun.  Try to hook as many of your students as possible. Most importantly, ensure that you have developed a strong rapport of trust and caring with your children before you begin.

I find that the best way to teach EFT is through test anxiety.  My students receive a weekly speed test in which they are expected to complete up to 100 basic math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication or division in less than ten minutes.  After taking these tests for several weeks, we discuss how everyone feels about them. It is always surprising to me how much anxiety these tests create, even in a safe, nurturing environment, where students know that it is absolutely okay to make mistakes.

When asked to show their level of stress with regard to these speed tests, many children hold up ten fingers to signify that their anxiety is extremely high.  This discussion paves the way perfectly for introducing tapping.  I confide to my class that I have recently learned of a wonderful way to deal with my own worries and stresses.

Rapport is critical at this point.  As long as your children trust and respect you they will happily accept the idea of tapping and be willing to give it a try.

I introduce a large picture of a stream amidst a forest, surrounded by wildlife and trees. The stream is a metaphor for our minds.  When we are feeling peaceful and relaxed everything flows smoothly, just as the stream does.  Stress is represented by a detachable tree.  What happens to the stream when the tree falls across it?  The water stops flowing properly, debris builds up around the tree, back eddies form and the bank starts to erode. In other words, the stream no longer flows as it should.  This is exactly what happens in our minds (and bodies) once stress enters our system.

I suggest to my students that if they tap on specific pressure points, which are connected to emotions in our bodies, at the same time as they tune into their feelings, they may be able to relieve some of their anxiety.  In other words, they may be able to remove that “tree” which has entered their mind and is holding them back from achieving their best.

We place stickers on a student’s self portrait to demonstrate specific points to tap on, and then we practice tapping on those points without using any words at all.  Next I ask them to think about that math test once more.

It is important to personalize the tapping and incorporate their own words while you tap, so before you get started, inquire once more about how they are feeling.  Ask them where they are feeling those feelings in their bodies (stomach, throat, heart, etc).

After that, you are ready to begin with a set-up statement.  Add some humour to make it fun and use as many of the children’s words as you can:

Karate Chop: Even though I have to write this speed test and it’s the last thing I want to do…and  I feel stressed and anxious… and my legs are shaking and I feel like I’m going to be sick to my stomach….. I am still an awesome kid!

Continue by tapping on the following points, acknowledging their own thoughts and feelings:

Top of head:  I am SO stressed! I have to write this speed test!

Eyebrow: My legs feel shaky.

Side of Eye: My stomach feels SICK!

Under Eye: My heart is pounding!

Under Nose: My throat feels dry!

Under Lip: What if I fail?

Collar Bone: What if do worse than last week?

Under Arm: What if I don’t get 100%?

Top of Head: I know I am smart.

Eyebrow: But it’s hard to be fast!

Side of Eye: It’s hard to do your best when you’re stressed.

Under Eye: I wish I could let go of this stress.

Under Nose: Let go of this stress…

Under Lip: It feels good to relax…

Collar Bone: Relax…

Under Arm:  I’m just going to give it my best… That’s all I can do….try my best.

Karate Chop: And even if I am not perfect, even if I do make mistakes, I am STILL an awesome kid!

After completing and marking their tests, have your students compare the results with those from the previous week.  Ask them what they notice about the results of both tests.  Hopefully this lesson will allow your students to perceive that tapping can be a very effective tool for helping to relieve anxiety as well as improve test scores.

We tap every week before speed tests, and the results continue to impress us. Two weeks ago, one boy volunteered to tap in front of our class because he had been hampered by worries during his previous test and as a result, had only achieved 63%. His stress level, he stated, was “more than ten”. He informed us that stress made him feel wiggly and squirmy. I added that I had noticed his legs moving a lot during last week’s test. So we tapped on those squirmy legs.  Eventually, after tapping for a round or two, we reframed with, “What if I could transform all of that squirmy leg energy into my pencil….?”

Not only were his legs completely still while writing that test, but to his complete delight, he achieved 97%!

This week he was worried again but for a different reason. So we tapped on “Even though I did so well last week it will be almost impossible for me to get any better…I’ll probably just get worse….”

He was very proud to achieve his first 100% ever!

Before you know it you could be trying EFT on everything in your classroom, from math tests to bullying, to lice ( yes, we have even used EFT for lice.)

And if you feel hesitant or doubtful about whether tapping will be accepted by others in your workplace, listen to your heart and just try it. After all, as teachers, our intention is to give children all the tools and skills and encouragement that we possibly can to allow them to achieve their very best, unencumbered by worries, anxieties and fears. With EFT we not only allow our children to acknowledge, express, accept and release their negative feelings, we teach them to affirm that whatever they are feeling, whatever problems they are experiencing, they are still without a doubt, awesome kids.

Perhaps there is more value in teaching our students how to tap than there is in teaching them to answer 100 math questions in less than ten minutes…

by Dr. Patricia Carrington

A highly informative e-Book by EFT Master, Dr. Patricia Carrington, gives a variety of suggestions on how to apply the acutapping technique, EFT, to exam anxiety and other fears surrounding the taking of tests. Click the link to download this resource.  EFT for Test Anxiety

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