This year sophomores are taking PSATs, which can be very nerve racking, in many different ways. For some people they are nervous about sitting in a silent room all day, so silent that you can hear a pin drop. Others have a fear of failing. I want to see how people feel about taking it. I’ve interviewed 3 people, one who’s nervous, one who’s not, and a 10th grade teacher. During my interviews I noticed that people have very different opinions on the PSATs.
I started by interviewing christina, a sophomore who is nervous about the PSATs. She stated “yes I am nervous because having a good SAT score can really help me get into a college” I asked her if shes ever froze up on a test and she said that she has. Some ways that she calms herself down for a test is by taking deep breaths. She believes that studying non stop will not help her test anxiety because “I would feel overwhelmed but I would tell myself to do it for the grade and ill pass” . Lastly i asked her what worries her most about tests and she said “im am most worried about if i get a good grade or not.”
Now i am interviewing ashley, a sophomore who is not nervous aboutthe PSATs. Ashley says “im not too nervous about the PSATs or SATs in general because if i study i think ill be fine.” when asked if shes ever froze up on a test, she responded with “ i havent froze on a test because i push myself to finish even if im not fully confident with my answers.” ashley thinks test anxiety is a normal thing because “ Its common and i do find peers often scared before tests.” i lastly asked her ‘why do you think your not nervous about tests?’ she said “depending on the test i have found myself being nervous before a test, i think the reason i dont get too nervous is because i know ill do fine if i put in the work before hand”
Lasty im interviewing 10th grade teacher who took the PSATs in highschool. The teacher im interviewing is Mrs. Munger when she took the PSATs she was not nervous because her and her friends didnt not take it seriously. I asked her if she thinks its normal to be nervous for them and she said “ yes i do because theres a lot of pressure for students to do well, i think schools talks a lot about doing well and about giving scholarships.” she thinks that if you could find a study guide or practice test to study for the PSATs then that would definitely help relieve stress about it. One thing she would tell to the kids who are nervous is that its not that big of a deal and is just to get you used to doiing tests like that.
After interviewing all 3 of them i have a better understanding on how the PSATs can and cannot make kids nervous, and the impact it has on the kids taking it.
By Alexis Hathaway