STAAR Testing Anxeity

Farawyn · Mar 27, 2017

Since anxiety is a health problem ... and test anxiety is a form of anxiety ... and taking tests is a routine feature of student life ... perhaps a school nurse could help by getting a handout/brochure/etc. on "Helping kids cope with test anxiety" and distribute it to the parents and teachers.
Producing such a resource could be a great project for someone looking to publish, provide a public service, etc. It would be a great project for a nursing student (particularly a graduate student).
My father was the "official physician" for our local school district. When he noticed a lot of kids coming into his office with generalized school anxiety, he asked a few questions and found that new, draconian disciplinary measures had been established. Some kids were becoming too scared to go to school. He went to the school board and asked them to reconsider some of those measures -- he made it a mental health issue and was successful in getting some positive changes to some of the disciplinary practices. I don't see why a nurse couldn't do similar things for the welfare of the students as a group.
Teaching kids, parents, and teachers about positive mental health behaviors sounds like a good thing to me. While it's not the school nurse's role to simply choose a public health problem and tackle it ... when it shows up repeatedly in her office, it seems reasonable to at least have a few educational resources to address it.

We have school psych. I see anxiety all day from the rain to testing to what's for lunch.

I don't have time to tackle test anxiety specifically. It's not even in my Top 10. I handle each case as it comes in, but if it is pronounced, it goes to psych or guidance.

IMO, it is the teacher's job to send home a note about anxiety, eating a good breakfast, a good night's sleep etc. before state testing.

Farawyn · Mar 27, 2017

Does your school decorate the walls with encouraging slogans, hold test pep rallies, and preparation super hero you can do it in parades the hallways, and feed the kids breakfast in the classroom on test day?????????????????????????????

Poop.

KKEGS, MSN, RN · Mar 27, 2017

I'd point them in the direction of a guidance counselor or school psychologist.

AdobeRN · Mar 27, 2017

Does your school decorate the walls with encouraging slogans, hold test pep rallies, and preparation super hero you can do it in parades the hallways, and feed the kids breakfast in the classroom on test day?????????????????????????????

We have done all of these things thru the years. I finally convinced the principal that we did not need to feed the kids breakfast due to food allergies/issues.

NurseBeans, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 27, 2017

Ugh. My school (and my own 3rd grader) are gearing up for testing. My daughter is getting all wound up about it and I have to admit, as a person who doesn't get anxiety from much of anything, much less a test, I really can't relate. I mean, I understand anxiety but I don't get it. Guess that's why I'm not a psych nurse.

Anyway, my daughter's teacher did something sort of sweet: she secretly sent home some pretty colors of paper with pre-printed inspiring phrases, and a spot to hand-write a note, for parents. She's going to leave one on the kids' desks each morning before the test. Just a nice little "rah-rah" note from home before diving into the tests. I know a lot of parents won't participate so I'm at the ready with a few extra notes.

Amethya, if the students admire and trust you enough to come to you with concerns, maybe a little note from you pre-test would be a nice inspiration? Just a thought.

Farawyn · Mar 27, 2017

You don't have to be a psych nurse or to understand why someone is anxious to help treat anxiety.

I just prefer a more "as you go" approach.

OldDude · Mar 27, 2017

The teachers are the ones with the test anxiety. The public educational world revolves around the "TEST" and thus, the only gauge of the teacher's performance comes from the percent of their students that pass the "TEST." The anxiety flows to the students by way of emotional diffusion. Anxiety that flows from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration and thus results in equal concentration of anxiety between teachers and students.

Source: "OldDude's Theory of Standardized Test Hysteria"

Farawyn · Mar 27, 2017

The teachers are the ones with the test anxiety. The public educational world revolves around the "TEST" and thus, the only gauge of the teacher's performance comes from the percent of their students that pass the "TEST." The anxiety flows to the students by way of emotional diffusion. Anxiety that flows from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration and thus results in equal concentration of anxiety between teachers and students.
Source: "OldDude's Theory of Standardized Test Hysteria"

Yes!

Parents absorb it all.

PMHNP10 · Mar 27, 2017

I have a cure--abolish each and every one of these scourges or our educational system. See...no test = no anxiety about the test.

guestMAR · Mar 28, 2017

Test taking anxiety can cause a student to not think clearly and either not perform as well or fail the test altogether. I teach NCLEX review and test taking strategies to nursing students. From my experience, test taking anxiety is the number one reason nursing students do not pass boards. I don't know the age of your students with the state testing, but I think teaching some simple techniques ahead of time to reduce test taking anxiety (for all tests, not just the state test) can help your students perform better.

Farawyn · Mar 28, 2017

Thanks, we are talking about grade school and high school students who are taking state exams that only benefit the school and not the student.

Nice commercial, though.

OldDude · Mar 28, 2017

Standardized testing for students is like expecting all the kids to wear the same size shoe. Some fit the mold, some don't - just ask Cinderella's sisters.