School is back in full swing for the last month and it shows by the number of students coming to see me for test anxiety. Test anxiety is one of the top causes of school anxiety because its features are evaluation, judgment, and comparison to other students. Most students who have difficulty in school are already feeling insecure about themselves. But testing can send student’s anxiety off the charts.

Here’s what students are saying: "It doesn’t matter how much I study, as soon as I get the test, my brain freezes." "I can’t concentrate on studying for a test because even thinking about it makes me nervous." "I always fail, why should I bother studying?" "I’m stupid, that’s why I’m failing." "When I get the test paper I feel like throwing up." "My heart pounds so hard during a test that it scares me, and I can’t think."

Here’s what parents are saying: "Every time there’s a test my daughter complains of a stomachache and wants to stay home." "I have to nag him to study, but he won’t." "She says she studies, but her tests scores are low and her grades are dropping."  "She throws up the morning of a test." "He’s even stopped doing the homework." "He’s completely unmotivated to do any schoolwork." "She says she hates school." "We fight all the time about schoolwork and grades."

Test anxiety creates tension between parent and child and sometimes child and teacher, and parent and teacher. Children with chronic test anxiety feel stupid, have little confidence in their ability and generally feel unable to overcome the challenges inherent in learning class material.

In my book I have a number of study and test taking exercises for overcoming test anxiety. Recently I learned a new exercise that uses positive reinforcement in a clever way to help kids do homework and study for tests. Many clients, even teens, are loving “Use Your Noodle,” and parents and children are seeing positive results, such as more self-motivation from children and less conflict at home about schoolwork.

"Use Your Noodle" Game
What you will need: a few boxes of large rigatoni pasta or any type of large round noodle, a box of colored pasta, an empty clean 4 ounce jar. In the beginning you want your child to be able to fill the jar quickly so use a small jar. Later, when your child is more motivated you can increase its size or decrease the size of the noodle, but not too much.

You’ll also have to decide on rewards, (reinforcements), which will depend on your child’s age. For example, a high school student asked for practice driving time with a parent when she filled her jar, a third grader was allowed a trip to the Dollar Store. You can decide on the reward with your child, but have surprises in mind too. Other ideas are 30 extra minutes of playtime, TV or computer time, a story, board game, special time with mom or dad, etc. Some students have made posters of the prize and hung it on or near the jar.

The goal of the game: When the jar is filled with pasta your child gets the reward. Try to give your child the reward as soon as possible.

First, tell your child that when he has to study for a test you will teach him how to organize his study material so he won’t be overwhelmed with the work, (if he hasn’t learned how to do this), see “studying in bits and pieces” in my book. If your child is very anxious about testing and gets nervous studying, to ease anxiety teach your child how to breathe properly (diaphragmatic breathing).

Then depending on the child’s age and material decide what constitutes putting a noodle in the jar. For example, “When you finish studying 3 to 5 spelling words you get a noodle.” “Review five math problems and you get a noodle.” An older student could be given a noodle for every 30 minutes of studying. The age of your child and the content of study material will determine when a noodle is placed in the jar—have your child be part of this process so they’re engaged in the fun and the game.

Using the Colored Noodle
The colored noodle is called the "jackpot" noodle. Let’s say your child has half a jar to fill and he gets his test paper back and his grade is higher than on the last test. Not necessarily an "A", just higher. Then it’s a JACKPOT! He gets a colored noodle, and gets his prize without having to fill the jar anymore. Or perhaps your child wants that jar filled fast, so he studies two nights in a row for a test without you telling him to do so—another "JACKPOT!"  You will decide what constitutes a jackpot with your child to increase his motivation.

After the goal is met, the jar is emptied and the game starts all over again.

Also "Use Your Noodle" for homework, handing in projects, chores, etc.

So stop yelling and nagging your child about school work. Use positive reinforcement, “Use Your Noodle.”