How Can I learn to stop worry about my grade

[exohuman]

I find that worrying about my grades sometimes can really effect the quality of my work. When I study things on my own during breaks I usually feel much better about my understanding of it and am able to do problems better. The looming fear of the test usually kind of keeps a cloud of darkness over the learning the stuff even when it is stuff I really want to learn.

I really wish I could take a more lax attitude and just have fun learning stuff and trying out ideas but the stresses of having to "make the grade" I think more than anything distract from the experience for me.

I can't tell you how many times I have taken a test and then within 10 minutes of leaving realize an error I had made or figure out how to do a problem I wasn't sure of on the test! Clearly, stress is keeping me from performing at my peak level. How can I overcome this?

Is there another way to think about grades and learning that might be a more productive lens to view it through? Any other advice on coping in this regard?

I get the impression that as you advance to higher level classes in undergrad and eventually graduate level the focus is less on computational grinding and more solid understanding of the material? What really stresses me out in classes now is that a simple arithmetic mistake or oversight can leave you with a subpar grade regardless of solid understanding.

 

[staddum]

This is so true! I mean, COME ON! I can't even trust my perception.

I'm on a exam and:

a) I read stuff that is nowhere. (ie. Instead of reading 5 seconds i read 15)
b) I just forget how to answer some questions, but i don't know i forgot. (it's not like "well.. i knew how to do this.. hum... hum.. hum"... I do it the wrong way because I'm so not fully thinking on the exam...)

I get off the exam and everything comes to my mind.. Seriously, IT'S SO ****ING* FRUSTATING (I also get really sad/depressive when this kind of stuff happens). In an exam you could have got 100%, you only get 60 or 70% because... baah



* I apologize for using such words, but that was the only way i found to express my feelings.

 

[kjohnson]

I think it helps to remember that school at any level is about learning, not about grades. Now most of the time they will go hand in hand, but sometimes you feel like you really learned something and your grade didn't reflect. The key is not to worry to much about it. If you truly learned the material you will be better off than if you had memorized formulas for a test and got a good grade.

A tip I can give you for learning the material better is to try and apply what you learned in class to real world problems. Doing the homework is a good start, but is no substitute for trying to take what you've learned and apply it toward solving a problem your curious about in the real world. Besides you usually have to define the problem which is learning in itself.

 

[NeedsHelp1212]

wow i can't believe other people have the same problem. During a test especially if its important if i don't get the first problem I start to panic and get so nervous which affects other problems that i would normally get. Then when i get a test back i feel so dumb looking back some of the mistakes I made since they are what i call "stupid". I don't understand how i always mess up on tests in some way and then i can not get over that regret WHICH affects my next test. I hate tests!

 

[Ryker]

Ah, yes, the so-called "stupid" mistakes, mistakes that aren't really stupid, but arise out of lack of knowledge just as any other "non-stupid" mistake does. I used to hold on to that view myself. And just today we had a midterm in astronomy, where there was an easy question, asking where you should look for Polaris if you're in a place with latitude 85°N. Flustered by not knowing exactly how many degrees from true North the star is, I chose the option look 5° to the west, 85° above the horizon instead of due North, 85° above the horizon. Walking out of the classroom I immediately realized that even if Polaris isn't exactly at true North, it still circles the point of sight when looking 85° above horizon and that even if it was 5° away it would circle and you wouldn't always see it straight above you looking in the western direction. Of course I got angry with myself and frustrated for making a "stupid" mistake.

But I realized (I have to remind myself of it often, since my natural reaction is still the one you described) that this was no stupid mistake. There is no such thing as a stupid mistake. Had I known the exact answer to the question, I wouldn't get puzzled by the stuff and would've selected the correct answer. And it's always like this. You're never going to screw up a multiple choice question asking what 1 + 1 amounts to when you have 2 as an answer (assume addition as normal). And that's exactly the thing. You shouldn't be angry with yourself for making a stupid mistake, you should concentrate instead on improving your knowledge of the things that are being asked. Because that's just what the notion of a test means. You get tested at that particular moment of time and it's knowledge that you have then that matters, not stuff you think of a day or even minutes after the test.

You may say this is bad, but I don't think it is. In life you're going to face tests every day, and say you're a doctor and you're 95% sure what the answer is, but you mess it up because you're not 100% sure. And because of the mistake your patient dies. See, you needed to be completely sure in the exact moment you were making the decision. And the fact remains it happened because you weren't, because you didn't have the knowledge you needed to address the problem adequately. One can call it a "stupid" mistake, because in another situation, you may have gotten it right. But that then is just fooling yourself into thinking you actually know the stuff, even though you obviously don't. I, myself, can be found guilty of that on numerous occassions, and I guess that's just human nature.

But that is exactly why people should concentrate on actually learning the material, and avoid thinking how they might not be "made for testing" as opposed to some other people. Because it's going to take hard work to convince me that someone gets, and even more importantly, remains nervous during a test on stuff (s)he supposedly mastered or has at least a grip on. I admit there's various levels of confidence people have, but unless you're having severe psychological issues you just don't get nervous when doing stuff you know. I mean, I'm pretty sure people don't get nervous cutting a steak or putting on shoes, because they just know how to do it.

Bottom line: focus on acquiring knowledge and actually learning the material. Good test results will no doubt accompany this.

 

[staddum]

Ah, yes, the so-called "stupid" mistakes, mistakes that aren't really stupid, but arise out of lack of knowledge just as any other "non-stupid" mistake does. I used to hold on to that view myself. And just today we had a midterm in astronomy, where there was an easy question, asking where you should look for Polaris if you're in a place with latitude 85°N. Flustered by not knowing exactly how many degrees from true North the star is, I chose the option look 5° to the west, 85° above the horizon instead of due North, 85° above the horizon. Walking out of the classroom I immediately realized that even if Polaris isn't exactly at true North, it still circles the point of sight when looking 85° above horizon and that even if it was 5° away it would circle and you wouldn't always see it straight above you looking in the western direction. Of course I got angry with myself and frustrated for making a "stupid" mistake.

But I realized (I have to remind myself of it often, since my natural reaction is still the one you described) that this was no stupid mistake. There is no such thing as a stupid mistake. Had I known the exact answer to the question, I wouldn't get puzzled by the stuff and would've selected the correct answer. And it's always like this. You're never going to screw up a multiple choice question asking what 1 + 1 amounts to when you have 2 as an answer (assume addition as normal). And that's exactly the thing. You shouldn't be angry with yourself for making a stupid mistake, you should concentrate instead on improving your knowledge of the things that are being asked. Because that's just what the notion of a test means. You get tested at that particular moment of time and it's knowledge that you have then that matters, not stuff you think of a day or even minutes after the test.

You may say this is bad, but I don't think it is. In life you're going to face tests every day, and say you're a doctor and you're 95% sure what the answer is, but you mess it up because you're not 100% sure. And because of the mistake your patient dies. See, you needed to be completely sure in the exact moment you were making the decision. And the fact remains it happened because you weren't, because you didn't have the knowledge you needed to address the problem adequately. One can call it a "stupid" mistake, because in another situation, you may have gotten it right. But that then is just fooling yourself into thinking you actually know the stuff, even though you obviously don't. I, myself, can be found guilty of that on numerous occassions, and I guess that's just human nature.

But that is exactly why people should concentrate on actually learning the material, and avoid thinking how they might not be "made for testing" as opposed to some other people. Because it's going to take hard work to convince me that someone gets, and even more importantly, remains nervous during a test on stuff (s)he supposedly mastered or has at least a grip on. I admit there's various levels of confidence people have, but unless you're having severe psychological issues you just don't get nervous when doing stuff you know. I mean, I'm pretty sure people don't get nervous cutting a steak or putting on shoes, because they just know how to do it.

Bottom line: focus on acquiring knowledge and actually learning the material. Good test results will no doubt accompany this.

I do not agree with you, atleast not entirely. I believe it comes down to semantics. I once forgot how to get km/h to m/s. Are you going to say it happened as the result of lack of knowledge? I don't think so. If you know the answer right after the exam (unless you saw the answer somewhere or you heard it), then it is part of your knowledge. You couldn't get it because you were nervous.I believe that, in order to avoid these so called "stupid mistakes", you need to be calm, you need to stay positive, you need to be "happy". Serotonin and other neurotransmitters helps the process of reasoning.

Even if you only have 15 mins left and you still need to do half the exam, stay calm, or cabum. You can't think when nervous...

I'm not sure if we can post links in here* but i found this site and, even tho it says what we all know already, it kind of helps to be reminded:

http://www.studygs.net/

* If we cannot, then please let me know so i can remove it.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

Anybody else read the topic title as "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"?

It makes me laugh every single time I see this topic.

 

[NeedsHelp1212]

I do not agree with you, atleast not entirely. I believe it comes down to semantics. I once forgot how to get km/h to m/s. Are you going to say it happened as the result of lack of knowledge? I don't think so. If you know the answer right after the exam (unless you saw the answer somewhere or you heard it), then it is part of your knowledge. You couldn't get it because you were nervous.


I believe that, in order to avoid these so called "stupid mistakes", you need to be calm, you need to stay positive, you need to be "happy". Serotonin and other neurotransmitters helps the process of reasoning.

Even if you only have 15 mins left and you still need to do half the exam, stay calm, or cabum. You can't think when nervous...

I'm not sure if we can post links in here* but i found this site and, even tho it says what we all know already, it kind of helps to be reminded:

http://www.studygs.net/

* If we cannot, then please let me know so i can remove it.

Is that scientifically supported? That as you get more nervous the level of serotonin and other neurotransmitters drops?

 

[sinosino]

Don't give up, and I need to work hard too.