There are many smart children out there that are mistakenly labeled as not so bright. This is because they tend to do well when they are given homework or when they have a project, but they freeze when they are tested. This is commonly known as test anxiety, and it can cause huge problems for students who suffer from it. They may be very intelligent, but because tests are so important to gauge where a student is with their studies, the anxiety stops them from doing well and their true level of intelligence is missed.
Students that have test anxiety often feel like they aren't that bright as well. They think they have problems, and they don't realize it is just a matter of freezing up when a test is put in front of them. If they suffer from test anxiety and they know it, they can work on it, but most don't know what is going on. This is where parents and teachers have to keep eyes open for signs of anything like this. If a child does well on assignments and other graded things, but can't pass a test, there may be more to it than just laziness or a learning disability.
The worst time for test anxiety to strike is on standardized tests. These are given during certain years of school and are used to decide how well each student is doing and how well the school is doing in general. If test anxiety affects these tests, a smart child could end up in special education for no reason other than they cannot take a test without being overcome with fear. It is not something that is easily understood by anyone unless they are suffering from it, but it might be a very early form of performance anxiety.
If you suspect your child has test anxiety, ask the teacher of your child to talk to you about what you think is going on. There are things that can help with this, and if a student has it, and it is caught early, it should be easy enough to fix. Once a student gets over having test anxiety they can go on to work at their true potential. If left unchecked, they might flunk out, and they may have the same panic with any stressful situation in the future. They may freeze up during a driver's test, a job interview, or will simply learn to avoid these things, which may limit quality of life. That will only happen in extreme cases, but that doesn't mean all cases should not be taken seriously.
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