KID STUFF : Tips for Testing, Sans Catastrophe

Sweaty palms can strike during any test--from college entrance exams to a measly pop math quiz. “About 35% of kids say they worry about tests,” says Deborah Beidel, a psychologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, who developed Testbusters, a test-taking program for anxious students. How do you rise above test anxiety?

“Getting the preparation books (for college exams) can help develop a ‘mental set,’ ” Beidel says. “Test-taking is really a skill; the more you practice, the better you get.” Other tips from Beidel and psychologist Jerry Deffenbacher of Colorado State University:

* “Answer the questions you consider easiest first,” Beidel says. It will give you a psychological boost.

* “On multiple-choice tests, read the question and think about your answer before you read the choice of answers,” Deffenbacher says. Rule out the wrong answers if you don’t know the right answer. “If you are going to flip a coin, flip it on two answers, not four.”

* Understanding the nature of your anxiety can help quell it. The sweaty-palmed, hyperventilating test-taker overreacts physiologically and needs to learn relaxation skills, Deffenbacher says. The worried test-taker plagued with thoughts of failure needs to think in “non-catastrophic” terms.