Test Anxiety in Children

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-03

When a test brings on panic

In our experience, some children go blank, freeze or get very upset during tests. The behavior alone does not tell you why.

If what you see looks like worry, check the school skill too. If it looks like trouble with the work, ask about worry too. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

What studies of test anxiety found

One review is by von der Embse and colleagues (2013). It looked at ways to help school students with test anxiety. It found few studies from 2000 to 2010. Some approaches showed "promising results," the review said. Its authors said school psychologists can help students with test anxiety.

An older review found a "serious lack of research" on reducing test anxiety in school students (Ergene, 2003). Most of the studies it pooled were of older students.

Our page on math anxiety covers worry about math. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

Who at school can help

In our view, ask whether your child's school has a school psychologist. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.

Before and after a test

• Ask the teacher what the test will cover.
• Practice that kind of question at home, a few days before.
• Talk about the test on an ordinary day, not only the night before.
• Afterward, ask what felt hard, before you ask about the score.
• Tell the teacher what you see at home.

These steps are our own practice.

When worry is about more than tests

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a US government health agency. The CDC describes when a child may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. One case is so many fears and worries that they "interfere with school, home, or play activities." It points to your child's doctor or a mental-health specialist for an evaluation. We cannot tell you whether your child has an anxiety disorder.

Sadness or worry that lasts is a reason to ask for help too.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.