5 Steps to Eliminate Test Anxiety

In New Jersey, the PSAT arrives in the fall, state tests fill the spring, and the SAT is never far away for high schoolers. For many kids, those weeks bring a stomachache, a sleepless night, or a meltdown over homework. If your child is wracked with test anxiety, you may be feeling it as well.

Test anxiety responds well to preparation and to the way adults talk about tests. Here’s what it looks like, five healthy habits that help, and what to know about the tests New Jersey students take today.

What test anxiety looks like in kids

A little nervousness before a test is normal, and it can even help a child focus. Test anxiety is when the worry gets big enough to get in the way. Kids rarely say “I have test anxiety.” Instead, you might notice:

• Physical signs: stomachaches, headaches, or nausea on test mornings, trouble falling asleep the night before, or a racing heart during the test.
• Thinking signs: going blank on material they knew the night before, reading the same question over and over, or saying “I’m going to fail” before the test has even started.
• Behavior signs: tears or anger over studying, putting off homework, rushing through a test just to be done with it, or begging to stay home on test day. A child who asks how to skip a test is usually telling you they are scared of it.

Younger children tend to show it in their bodies and moods. Teenagers are more likely to talk about college or “ruining everything” with one score.

Step 1: Make a routine

Everyone’s schedule is crazy. There is school, soccer practice, piano lessons, karate class, birthdays, holidays, and family events. There always seems to be a reason why homework is not getting done. Homework and studying need to be a priority.

Set a time every day to do homework and to study for exams, preferably at the same spot. Depending on your child’s age and workload, that might be 20 to 30 minutes for a younger child and a half hour to an hour for an older one. When study time is consistent, there is no wondering whether there will be enough time to prepare.

Routine also beats cramming. When a big test is coming, count back from the test date with your child and put a small, specific goal on each day, such as “ten fraction problems” or “one reading passage and its questions.” Crossing off those days builds confidence, because your child can see the preparation adding up.

Step 2: Healthy habits start with healthy kids

A good night’s sleep and a strong breakfast should not be just a test day practice. When kids are physically healthy, they are better prepared for tests and other stressors.

Sleep is the big one. The CDC recommends 9 to 12 hours a night for children ages 6 to 12 and 8 to 10 hours for teens. Make sure your child also exercises and plays outside whenever possible.

Food matters too. Sometimes tests are taken in the afternoon, so it is important that your child eats a healthy lunch of protein and vegetables, whether they bring it from home or eat the school’s lunch. That meal is the fuel that keeps them going through the day.

What about the night before, when your child doesn’t feel ready? Many kids are tempted to stay up late and cram. Help them do the opposite: a short, calm review of the most important notes or a few practice problems, pack the bag for the morning, and go to bed on time. A tired brain recalls less, and sleep is when the day’s learning settles in. Your child will get more from eight hours of sleep than from three extra hours of panicked studying.

Step 3: Read for fun

The best readers read for fun. Children who read for fun build comprehension and stamina, and both show up on test day. Today’s tests ask kids to read long passages on a screen and stay focused for more than an hour at a time.

Not everything your child reads has to be nonfiction or an educational text. Does your child enjoy The Lightning Thief or A Wrinkle in Time? Even if the book is below your child’s reading level, they are reading for fun, and you should always encourage it.

Step 4: Don’t diminish

“You think this is stressful? Wait until you have a family to take care of and bills to pay.” No, absolutely not. Do not belittle your child’s anxieties and fears. This may be the first time they have felt stress at a level they could not handle. Is raising a family stressful? Yes, but your child does not know that, nor should they. All they know is what they have experienced.

Shutting down your child’s fears as unimportant doesn’t make them go away. It teaches your child to hide them. Try phrases like these instead:

• “It makes sense that you’re nervous. This test matters to you.”
• “Let’s figure out what part feels hardest and practice that.”
• “Whatever the score is, we’ll look at it together and make a plan.”

Step 5: Talk about the anxiety

Let your child know it is okay to feel anxious about school, and talk about it with them. When parents take the time to listen to what is upsetting their child, they are better able to help, and the child feels heard. Bonds of trust and support are built this way.

It also helps when your child sees that you can relate. Letting them know you felt the same pressure before exams, and that it is normal to feel this way, makes the feeling less scary.

Writing can help, too. In a study published in Science, students who spent about ten minutes writing about their worries right before an exam did better than anxious students who didn’t, because putting the worry on paper freed up mental energy for the test. If your child is a worrier, a few minutes with a notebook before a big test is worth trying. For more ways to support a nervous child, see our guide on how to help your child with school anxiety.

Preparing for the NJSLA-A (grades 3–8)

PARCC is long gone in New Jersey. Students now take the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, and in spring 2026 the NJSLA moved to a computer-adaptive version, the NJSLA-A. It covers English language arts in grades 3 through 9 and math in grades 3 through 8, plus Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II.

What helps a nervous child most is knowing what to expect:

• It adapts. The test starts with questions of medium difficulty and gets harder or easier depending on how your child answers. Questions that feel tough are not a sign that things are going badly.
• Every question needs an answer. Students must answer each question before moving on, though they can change an answer later in the same session. Teach your child to make their best guess and keep going instead of freezing on one question.
• It comes in units. ELA Reading is two 75-minute sessions, ELA Writing is one 90-minute session with a single extended writing task, and math is two 75-minute sessions, according to the NJDOE’s testing times. Schools give no more than one unit a day, and students work at their own pace within each session.
• It happens in spring. The state window for 2027 runs from April 19 to May 21, and your child’s school picks its own days inside it, per the NJDOE testing schedule. Ask the school for your child’s dates.

The single best preparation step is free. The New Jersey Assessments Portal has online practice tests for ELA and math: choose Continue as Guest, then your child’s grade. The NJDOE says these practice tests are meant to help students get comfortable with the testing system and tools, not for studying content. That is exactly what an anxious child needs, because the screen, the tools, and the question types will feel familiar on test day. You can read about how we run NJSLA practice exams at Genie Academy.

Preparing for the digital SAT and PSAT

The SAT and PSAT are now fully digital. Students take them in the College Board’s Bluebook app, which runs on a Windows or Mac computer, an iPad, or a school-managed Chromebook. Here’s what to know, from the College Board’s description of the test:

• Two sections, two modules each. Reading and Writing has 54 questions in two 32-minute modules. Math has 44 questions in two 35-minute modules. With a 10-minute break, the SAT takes 2 hours and 14 minutes. The PSAT/NMSQT has the same two sections and the same length.
• The second module adapts. Based on how your child does on the first module of a section, the second module is harder or easier. If the second module feels hard, that is often because the first one went well. Telling your teen this ahead of time can stop a spiral mid-test.
• The calculator is built in. Bluebook has a Desmos calculator with graphing and scientific modes for the Math section. Students can also bring an approved calculator, and the College Board recommends practicing with whichever one they will use on test day.
• Practice tests live in Bluebook. There is a short test preview and official full-length practice tests in the app. When your teen is signed in to a College Board account, the full-length tests are scored and the results appear in My Practice, with a breakdown of every question, the correct answer, and the answer your teen chose.

Have your teen take at least one full-length practice test in Bluebook, at a desk, on the device they will use for the real test. Doing the whole thing once removes much of the unknown. If PSAT scores just came back, our guide to what counts as a good PSAT score explains how to read the report. Our SAT tutoring in New Jersey turns it into a study plan, and our other test prep programs cover the ACT, ISEE, and SSAT.

A calm test-day checklist

• Sleep on time the night before. No late-night cramming.
• Eat breakfast, and pack a snack and water if the school allows it.
• For the SAT or PSAT, charge the device fully and make sure Bluebook is installed and up to date.
• Leave early so nobody is rushing.
• Send your child off with something simple: “Do your best. I’m proud of you either way.”

When to get extra help

If anxiety is causing frequent stomachaches, sleep problems, or school refusal, talk with your child’s pediatrician or school counselor. Sometimes, though, the anxiety has a simple cause: your child is missing a skill and knows it. Closing that gap is often the fastest way to calm the nerves. A free assessment shows exactly where your child stands in math, reading, or writing, so you can stop guessing.

These steps can make a huge difference for your child when testing time comes. It is important to remember, though, that standardized tests are just tests. The only thing you and your child should ask of a test is whether they did their best. The test does not define your child. Your child is also a bright, loving, and engaged person. They are more than an exam.

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