Exam Hints & Strategies: Ways to Help Your Student

Scroll through these ideas and pick one or two that might fit your student. Or, show these to your student and allow them to choose. 

Find the complete schedule here.

Make the Most of What You Learned with a Positive Mindset

Helping your student to keep thinking, "What Went Well" starting now and through finals week will help them perform best on exams based on all the work they've already put in. 

It can be difficult in a stressful situation, but teach your student to focus on the positive. For example, never chide yourself for what you didn't study or review. That's in the past now. Instead, think about what you did do. 

These positive thoughts help shift the physical symptoms of stress away from "fight or flight" to "challenge" stress.

• The first inhibits your ability to think clearly as your more primitive mind takes over to survive in threatening situations.
• Challenge stress instead helps intellectual performance by feeding your brain the chemicals that improve quick thinking, memory recall, problem-solving, and other "executive function" brain activity.

Here's a reminder graphic you can share with your student:

Encourage Your Student to Study Effectively with Others

Group study offers an effective study approach with scientific research backing.  

Quizzing one another, discussing difficult topics, sharing study notes, are just three of the proven activities in group study opportunities. 

Working among peers also can help calm stress. 

Our student leaders have worked with Newport staff to offer a group study option this year that capitalizes on proven study strategies.

Name it to Tame It

A general feeling of anxiety distracts our minds and saps our physical well-being. When your student feels stressed, even when stress is a natural response, your student can set aside the distraction if they can take a moment to be specific about what's behind the discomfort. 

Some examples:

• "I feel afraid of the consequences of not performing well" is a natural feeling regardless of how much you have prepared. Naming the feeling can quiet the stress. Self-talk does impact stress response. Tell yourself that "Preparation is over. Now it is time to show what I do know. Whatever the consequences later, right now, I'm going to focus." Repeating that message every time your mind strays to negative talk, pushes stress aside.
• "What will my friends think if I don't do well" also can haunt teens. Again, finding a way to set that aside for now, will help your student focus. Encourage your student to come up with a noncommittal response to inquiries, something like, "I did as well as I expected to" or "I'm glad that one is done, and now I want to focus on the next one" both provide a polite response but don't reveal details. Having a response plan allows the student to put aside the distracting stress point and focus on the exam. 

Ask  your student to tell you about the negative self talk they are experiencing. Often just saying it out loud tames it. If not, you can help develop a strategy similar to one of our examples.

The key in any situation of stress is to NOTICE what makes you feel stressed, identify or NAME a cause, and then intentionally set aside the worry with any kind of plan to NAVIGATE it.

The plan doesn't have to be the best plan. Any workable strategy quiets the primitive, emotional side of your brain and allows the executive function brain (i.e., thinking, planning, remembering, problem-solving) to work more effectively. In fact, starting with an easy strategy may give your student enough quiet to tap into better problem-solving ability and a new, stronger strategy.

Here's a simple strategy to share with your student: