By: Aggie Rieger
Headaches, nausea, mood swings, irritability and more. The list sounds like symptoms of a severe virus. That virus could be your upcoming science test or history quiz. These are all symptoms of stress, commonly from tests and other classroom curriculum. It is test stress, and it sweeps through high schools- including our own.
Senior Ally Cuttia knows all too well these symptoms.
“[I get] really bad mood swings and everything goes downhill from there,” said Cuttia.
Cuttia, like many other students, finds math the most difficult and stressful subject.
“Students tend to see math as a challenging subject, even when they’re pretty good at it,” said teacher Phillip Gegen.
Gegen teaches Algebra I, Geometry and AP Stats. In his classroom, he sees his fair share of stressed out students each time a test rolls around. He, along with other math teachers in the building, do all they can to prepare students and ease stress.
“We all have reviews for every unit test,” Gegen says.
Further, these reviews are designed to be similar to the actual test, aiding students in preparation.
“It’s just what Allen Iverson says, ‘It’s practice.’ If they take advantage of the review and practice just like any sport, and game, anything you want to be good at. Practice. That’s really the only secret,” Gegen said.
Cuttia herself takes advantage of help from teachers.
“I usually go in for help with the curriculum and make sure I have it down,” she said.
Still, sometimes this is not enough. Nurse Debbie Rippe reveals that there is more to test stress than just the test material.
“Lots of times they’re coming to school without a good night’s rest which creates issues,” said school nurse Rippe, who has been a nurse since 1991. “Head aches and stomachaches are related to not getting enough sleep at night.”
Another issue that causes student stress and hinders test taking is breakfast, commonly called the “most important meal of the day.” When students do not eat in the mornings, they do not have the proper foundation to begin school and thus lose focus and instead gain stress. The school attempts to prevent these two contributing factors to test stress.
“Before a big test, we remind students to get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast before school,” Rippe said.
Oak Park also provides students with breakfast in the morning. This, along with teacher aid and reminders from the school are in place to prevent test stress.
“The opportunities are out there,” Rippe said.Students just need to take advantage of them.
