Westside Test Anxiety Scale

The competition to get into a good college is fierce. You're up against students who are spending lots of time preparing for college entrance exams. (Some start as early as elementary school!)

Recent studies show that most students are not prepared to handle the “rigor” of a college education. But when you can enter a testing room with confidence, it will help you achieve higher scores on the ACT or SAT test.

How do you know if you're prepared to take a college entrance exam?

Answer the following 10 questions as best you can, and discover whether you're ready to conquer college entrance exams - or if you should sign up for an ACT or SAT prep course to gain invaluable test-taking strategies and study tips.

Take the Quiz

Rate how true each of the following is for you, from extremely or always true to not at all or never true.

 

 

5: Extremely/

Always True

4: Highly/

Usually True

3: Moderately/

Sometimes True

2: Slightly/

Seldom True

1: Not At All/

Never True
1) The closer I am to a major exam, the harder it is for me to concentrate on the material.
 

5

4

3

2

1
2) When I study, I worry that I will not remember the material on the exam.
 

5

4

3

2

1
3) During important exams, I think that I'm doing awful or that I may fail.
 

5

4

3

2

1
4) I lose focus on important exams, and I cannot remember material that I knew before the exam.
 

5

4

3

2

1
5) I finally remember the answer to exam questions after the exam is already over.
 

5

4

3

2

1
6) I worry so much before a major exam that I am too worn out to do my best on the exam.
 

5

4

3

2

1
7) I feel out of sorts or not really myself when I take important exams.
 

5

4

3

2

1
8) I find that my mind sometimes wanders when I am taking important exams.
 

5

4

3

2

1
9) After an exam, I worry about whether I did well enough.
 

5

4

3

2

1
10) I struggle with writing assignments or avoid them as long as I can. I feel that whatever I do will not be good enough.
 

5

4

3

2

1

Get Your Test Anxiety Score

Add your scores for all 10 questions and divide the total by 10. This is your score.

What Does Your Score Mean?

1.0-1.9: Comfortably low test anxiety

2.0-2.5: Normal or average test anxiety

2.5-2.9: High-normal test anxiety

3.0-3.4: Moderately high test anxiety

3.5-3.9: High test anxiety

4.0-5.0: Extremely high test anxiety

Students who score at least 3.0 or more on our scale (having at least moderately high anxiety) tend to benefit from anxiety reduction training, reporting lower anxiety levels and improved test scores and class grades afterward.

The scale is constructed to measure anxiety impairments, with most items asking about performance impairment or worrying, which interferes with concentration. Symptoms of physiological stress are found to be relatively weak indicators of performance impairments and are not included in the scale.

The Westside Scale is a highly sensitive measure of anxiety impairment. See the American Test Anxieties Association for more information on test anxiety.