# data[].attributes.headline
More Kids Than Ever Are Dealing With Test Anxiety, and We Need to Help

# data[].attributes.subject
More Kids Than Ever Are Dealing With Test Anxiety, and We Need to Help

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Test anxiety is the number one learning challenge of students today. According to the American Test Anxieties Association, it affects more than 10 million kids in North America.

Test anxiety is not anxiety per se, though it is related to performance anxiety. And it's not a learning disorder, though many kids with learning disorders have it.

Test anxiety is its own beast that shows up in students of all ages at testing time. Students can be 100 percent prepared and ready but then are debilitated when they sit down to take the test. Take a look at the facts in this video below.

Testing has been on the rise, especially in the last 10-15 years. A study from the Council of the Great City Schools found that students will take about 112 standardized tests from pre-K through 12th grade. And researchers are proving that there's definitely a link between the increase in frequency of standardized tests and test anxiety.

Educators see it every single day, which is adding to their stress, too. We have teachers, like Mary*, who have a whopping 40 percent of their personal evaluation based on students' test scores. There are schools, like Allison's, who have important funding tied to their test scores, so admins cut things like recess, art, and even lunch time to give extra minutes for test prep.

There are teachers, like Mark, who wake up in the middle of the night, unable to stop worrying about testing: Did I prepare my kids enough? Is Marcus going to get yelled at by his dad if he doesn't do well? Am I going to lose my job if scores dip this year?

And we have confusing and baffling scenarios, like Kate's. She's a SPED teacher, and though her students can't read or understand the concept of testing, they take the same tests as their peers. Those days often end up with Kate's students in tears, but all she can do is watch helplessly, since strict rules restrict her from helping in any way.

So what's the solution?

It'd be easy to say we should have fewer tests and more trust in our teachers. It's tempting to blame lawmakers or say we need to overhaul the way we look at testing in schools today. But whether you agree with these statements or not, they won't help teachers giving standardized tests next month. And it won't address the 35 percent of students in North America who report having moderate, high, or severe test anxiety.

To better understand test anxiety and get tips for dealing with it, we spoke with educational experts around the country who see it every day. These professionals work with parents, students, and teachers, hoping to improve the statistics overall. Here are their 10 best tips for helping your students.

1. Understand and embrace the good parts of stress.

Christopher S. Rozek is the lead author on a recent study by the Department of Psychology at Stanford University, and he found that giving students an alternative perspective to stress and anxiety can be really helpful in helping them cope with it. They found that just understanding anxiety can improve test scores, especially in students from lower-income backgrounds.

"In our study we helped students look at how anxieties can be valuable," he says. "We showed them you can actually use certain anxieties to help yourself do better on a test."

Rozek is talking about things like a fast heartbeat, nervousness, and even sweaty palms. All can be a sign of anxiety, but when you understand them better, you realize they can actually help you.

Give your students a different point of view. "It's perspective really," Rozek says. He says teachers can be the leaders in helping students switch their viewpoints. For instance, let students know that a fast heartbeat can be a positive sign. It can actually tell your brain that you're excited, and it helps get you be mentally prepared for the test.

Talk about anxiety, even at a young age. Test anxiety can happen at any age, but since it peaks early on ( usually in grades 2-4), teachers shouldn't be afraid to have the conversation. Here are some good books on anxiety to check out.

2. Give students an outlet through journaling.

Another tip from Rozek is to have students write about their worries ahead of time.

"Writing about your anxieties can help you gain insight about them," he says. "It doesn't totally get rid of all of your anxieties, but it can help offload them."

Journaling and writing have been used for years to help us cope with and relieve stress, and Rozek says this can work prior to testing, too. By encouraging journaling, you can let students express their concerns openly instead of keeping them bottled up.

Talk about why writing helps. Don't be afraid to talk to your students about how writing has made you feel better and lessened your worries overall.

Practice it regularly. If you need ideas, here are some writing prompts for building self-esteem and confidence.

3. Practice mindfulness regularly, not just during stressful times.

Marisa LaDuca Crandall has worked for years as a school psychologist, and she knows there's a lot of high-stakes testing in schools today, leading to more test anxiety. She says one of the best ways to combat this is through mindfulness.

"When you practice mindfulness every day, it actually helps train the prefrontal cortex of your brain to learn how to deal with anxiety and stress," she says. "If you practice it regularly, even in stressful situations, it can help create a positive association instead of a negative one."

Make it a daily activity. Even a minute in the morning and a minute after lunch can go a long way in creating a good mindfulness practice for students. Then they'll start to understand how to do it on their own.

Try breathing, books, and other ideas. Here's an article on bringing mindfulness into the classroom for students AND teachers.

4. Make accommodations when necessary.

Imagine you're taking a test and suddenly your brain seems to freeze. You can't remember anything-you even struggle to understand the words you're reading on the page. This is a very real scenario, and when this happens, students can feel completely trapped by their surroundings.

So what can a teacher do? If an anxiety attack suddenly comes on, sitting in a quiet room and watching the seconds tick by doesn't help. Even with testing rules and regulations that need to be followed, Crandall says teachers should have a plan in place when this happens to a student.

Work with your principal and admin to give students an option. This is important. Let them pause, get a drink, or go out to the hallway for a moment.

Remove the student from the environment. Let students take their test in an office or a separate room.

5. Kids need more physical activity and sleep, especially before a big test.

"It might sound silly to prescribe things that we already know we should be doing," Crandall says. "But we aren't doing them."

This area definitely needs the support of families, but Crandall says there are ways schools can get involved, too. "We need to give time for it during the school day," she says. "We can't just tell kids to do stuff without giving them time to do it."

Add in more recess during testing. If you're going into a big testing week or if you're in the middle of one, be an advocate for your students. Make sure they're getting their outdoor and recess time. It actually helps test scores!

Encourage brain breaks. This is another practice that is good to do year-round. It helps students recognize when they need a break and then take it.

Keep reminding parents. Sleep, a good breakfast, and overall rest are all messages worth repeating.

6. Expose kids to an actual testing environment-stressors and all.

Simulation is an effective tool to use for test prep, and one of the most important parts of it is to make it authentic.

"This falls under exposure therapy," Crandall says. "If you can create a simulation where you actually go through it, you can help manage the anxiety."

Try to replicate the scenario as much as you can. If it's a timed test, time your students. If it's an early morning test, be sure to do a trial at that same time.

Talk about it when you're done. If you do try a simulation activity, talk to your students after it's over. Ask them how they felt. Help them see that it's fine to feel a little anxiety but that they can move past it and still do great.

7. Get your principal on board to make it a school-wide effort.

Principal support is key for any classroom concern, and it's certainly true for dealing with test anxiety.

"You need a good principal," says Dr. Richard Driscoll, the founder of the American Test Anxieties Association. "A good leader that understands the concerns and offers solutions can do so much to help teachers."

So how can your principal help?

Get the entire district involved. Communicate with other stakeholders about the issue of test anxiety and identify solutions for your community.

Communicate to parents. Talk with parents about testing and help to place it in the right context.

Give teachers the tools they need, including the authority to make accommodations when needed.

8. Collaborate with parents.

In some cases, parents are making demands of teachers and adding to their children's stress, often without even realizing it. This is something Annmarie Chereso, founder of the organization BringIt! Home, knows all too well as a mindfulness coach in Chicago schools.

She says it's important to remember that parents can also be an ally in the process. Here are some collaboration opportunities:

Give pointers for how to talk about testing at home. Tell parents about test anxiety and give them explicit ways to talk about testing that relieve some of the pressure. Suggest that they say things like, "These tests don't measure who you are as a person," for example.

Build trust in the parent-teacher relationship. Keep the lines of communication open through email, social media, class newsletters, etc. Sometimes parents just need that reminder that you're all in it together.

Conquer the what-if scenarios with students and parents. "Anxiety is just fear of something that might or might not happen in the future," says Chereso. She suggests talking with students and parents about those what-if fears. Sometimes just recognizing them and accepting them is a good first step.

9. Work on your own test-related anxiety.

Students absolutely pick up on feelings of anxiety, stress, and worry, and they'll replicate it in their own behavior. Scientifically, it's known as mirror neurons, and it's something kids learn to do even as babies.

This same behavior can hold true for test anxiety. "Kids are like sponges," Chereso says. "If an adult is showing up in the environment with fear or anxiety-even if they're not speaking it-our children will notice this and reflect it back."

There is no doubt teachers have a lot of their own stress and anxiety, and the growing emphasis and demands in testing certainly don't help. But Chereso says the first step is to acknowledge it, just like you would encourage your students to do.

Work through it, but not in front of the kids. "It's okay to have anxiety around testing," Chereso says. "But try to process it away from them so you can show up in a way that's clean for students."

Implement your own mindfulness practice. She recommends regular mindfulness for adults, just like you would do with students. Testing (and the other stresses of being a teacher) might not be going away anytime soon, but you can learn how to better cope with it every single day.

10. Speak up, even when you're not sure anyone is listening.

Teaching can feel lonely, frustrating, and ever challenging, especially when you look at the testing in schools. But all of our experts agree that we shouldn't stop talking about test anxiety and finding ways to improve it.

We need to keep talking about it for Christina, a third grade teacher who says the hardest part of her job is those awful conversations she has to have every year-where she tells kids (and their parents) they'll have to repeat the third grade.

We need to keep talking about it for Alex, who says his coworkers have grown to despise their administration because of the unrealistic expectations and tracking they put in place in an attempt to raise test scores (instead of addressing the real problems).

And finally, we need to keep talking about it for the kids. The kids who call in absent on testing day because they can't even function. The ones who worry themselves so much that they throw up. And, as Tina points out, the ones that will grow up to become teachers, politicians, and difference makers who can make an impact on the future.
*All teacher stories in examples in this article are true accounts, but names have been changed for privacy. Have you dealt with test anxiety in you classroom? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, why we need to do more for teachers who are exhausted, stressed, and burned out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More Kids Than Ever Are Dealing With Test Anxiety, and We Need to Help

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Test anxiety is the number one learning challenge of students today. According to the American Test Anxieties Association, it affects more than 10 million kids in North America. Test anxiety is not anxiety per se, though it is related to performance anxiety. And it's not a learning disorder, though many kids with learning disorders have it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Melting Exercise - Learn To Destress | Guided Meditation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

# data[].attributes.body
Free for educators and students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Down Dog provides a studio-like yoga experience in the comfort of your home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learn To Bring Down Stress | Guided Meditiation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

# data[].attributes.body
(NOT Frozen related)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ClassDojo and Stanford's PERTS Research Center teamed up to create the the first season of The Mojo Show. The five-episode video series (along with a few incredible activities) highlight the power of having a growth mindset, and how any student can learn this skill!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ClassDojo and Stanford's PERTS Research Center teamed up to create the the first season of The Mojo Show. The five-episode video series (along with a few incredible activities) highlight the power of having a growth mindset, and how any student can learn this skill!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter is critical to the learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met. From Edutopia.org’s Assessment Professional Development Guide.

# data[].attributes.body
For when our method of assessment is within our control.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
22 Simple Assessment Strategies You Can Use Every Day

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here are 22 simple assessment strategies and tips to help you become more frequent in your teaching, planning, and curriculum design.

# data[].attributes.headline
9 tips for helping grade-schoolers cope with test anxiety

# data[].attributes.subject
9 tips for helping grade-schoolers cope with test anxiety

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Does your grade-schooler get overly stressed on test days? Not all stress is bad. Good stress pumps us up and can help us perform well. But too much stress can give way to anxiety and fear that get in the way of kids showing what they know. If you're noticing test anxiety , try these tips to help your child feel more at ease with test taking.

1. Ask what's making your child feel nervous.

Help your child pinpoint what's causing the anxiety. Is it that multiplication is too hard? Is filling in the bubbles on the test sheet the hard part? Often just saying what's happening out loud can bring some relief. And understanding what the concerns are can help both of you come up with strategies.

As you talk, try not to let your child's anxiety make you feel anxious. If you're calm, it can help your child stay calm, too.

2. Give a sneak peek at test formats.

Knowing what to expect can take away some of your child's fear of the unknown on quiz or test day. Check in with your child's teacher about the schedule and format for both short quizzes and longer tests. Try to get a sample of each type of quiz and test. Then review each sample with your child. ("This is the word bank. These are fill-in-the-blank questions.")

3. Help prepare little by little.

Studying in chunks can help make the task more manageable - and that could help make your child less nervous. Once you know when your child's tests will be, work backwards to schedule daily study times. Say your first grader has a 20-word spelling test every Friday. You can study 10 new words on Monday. On Tuesday, you can study the other 10 new words. Then review all 20 words on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before school.

4. Find study methods that are comfortable.

Your child's style of learning can help you figure out what might work best for studying. Some kids like using flashcards. Some like to move around while reciting facts. Work with your child to come up with a study method that feels right. You can also ask your child's teacher for ideas, based on experience with your child.

Consider creating a homework station , too. An organized, consistent study space may help your child feel more at ease about studying for tests.

5. Work on some basic strategies.

Some kids may have test anxiety because they don't understand the basics of taking tests. Going over simple strategies can help. Remind your child to start by reading through the questions carefully. Kids can ask themselves, "What am I being asked to do here? Circle an answer? Write a paragraph?" Last, always check the answers before handing in the test.

You can also talk about strategies for tricky questions. For instance, tell your child it's OK to skip a tough question and move on to an easier one. Then go back to the tough question later.

6. Boost your child's confidence.

Honest and specific praise can remind your child that success is possible no matter what the outcome of the test is. Success doesn't have to mean a perfect score. Just doing a good job of preparing is already a win. So if you notice that your child is working hard on preparing for a test, mention this. Feedback like this can help kids approach tests with more confidence.

7. Remind your child of support that's available.

If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan that includes accommodations on tests, remind your child about it. Knowing that supports are in place may help your child feel more at ease. When kids are using an accommodation for the first time, it's a good idea to talk them through how it will help during a test.

If your child doesn't have an IEP or a 504 plan, consider talking to the teacher about informal supports that could help. And make sure the teacher is aware that your child gets anxious about tests. The teacher may be willing to sit down with your child before a test and offer reassurance. It can help kids feel less anxious if they know the teacher understands and is supportive.

8. Help your child feel good on test day.

Not getting enough sleep can affect how kids feel on test day. This is especially true for kids with attention issues. Make sure your child gets enough rest the night before a test. Be mindful of screen time. Be sure your child takes all necessary medications. And try to provide a protein-rich breakfast, like eggs or oatmeal.

After a test, ask your child how it went. Did your child feel prepared? Was there anything your child felt unprepared for? (You can also talk about this when your child gets the graded test back.) This can help kids learn to make their own decisions about how to prepare for tests in the future: "Before the unit test, I should practice using my vocabulary words in a sentence." Figuring out what to try next time can help kids feel more in control of the situation. And that could reduce test anxiety going forward.

About the Author

About the Author

Lexi Walters Wright is the former Community Manager at Understood. As a writer and editor, she helps parents make more informed choices for their children and for themselves.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Rayma Griffin, MA, MEd has spent 40 years working with children with learning and thinking differences in the classroom and as an administrator.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
9 tips for helping grade-schoolers cope with test anxiety

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Does your grade-schooler get overly stressed on test days? Not all stress is bad. Good stress pumps us up and can help us perform well. But too much stress can give way to anxiety and fear that get in the way of kids showing what they know.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When athletes are called upon to perform in high-pressure situations many of them describe having peaked senses that they use to their advantage. They're able to quiet their minds, zone out the audience, and make the catch. Kids with test anxiety have the opposite reaction.

"Anxiety also has the potential to shut you down," explains neuropsychologist Ken Schuster, PsyD. "When kids are having test anxiety they can't think clearly, they can't judge things the way they could if they weren't anxious. All of your other abilities get clouded up by anxiety."

There are a number of different reasons why some kids might be more susceptible to anxiety. Test anxiety often goes hand-in-hand with learning issues. Children who have ADHD or a learning disability are often already feeling anxious about schoo l, and when it's time to take a test that sense can be heightened. "If I have ADHD and I am prone to inattention, if I start feeling anxious on top of that I'm going to have a lot more difficulty," notes Dr. Schuster.

Likewise, when a student has a limited amount of time to take a test and knows that he processes things slowly, he's probably going to start feeling anxious.

Kids worried that they won't do well, for whatever reason, are prone to more anxiety. Kids with an anxious temperament who worry about making mistakes or performing in general-from singing in music class to going up to bat at baseball-tend to feel more test anxiety. Kids who believe that they won't do as well in a particular subject-like girls influenced by the stereotype that boys are better at math -may also be more prone to test anxiety in that subject.

The common denominator is that if you think you aren't going to do well, you're going to feel more anxious going in. "What I have seen when I work with kids who have test anxiety is they tend to say, 'I'm so stupid,' " says Matt Cruger, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. "That can't be a helpful mindset to have when taking tests. In a more general way I'm really trying to rehabilitate kids' sense of themselves as competent learners."

Learning strategies to bolster your confidence going into the test is a good approach. Often that starts with changing how you study. Dr. Cruger says that 90% of the students he works with don't have an effective model of studying. "What they end up doing most often is rely on their memory of what they heard in class, or review their notes by reading them over," he says. He helps them try other more active methods that give them more mastery over the material.

- Know the test format. "Imagine if you took the SAT but you never did any SAT prep. That could happen to a kid all the time," says Dr. Cruger. "They studied the content but they didn't know what the format was going to be, so they don't feel like they are prepared." So kids should try to find out what format the test will be. Multiple choice? True or false? Essay? A combination? Just knowing the format will help them feel more prepared and take away the shock they might feel when they are handed the test. And if it is possible to take some practice tests, do it.

- Reorganize the material. Try to think about what the main ideas are in what the class has been studying. Outline the big events and issues, and think about the themes that unite them. This is a more active style of studying that helps kids think about what they have been learning in a different way from how it was presented, which will give them a richer understanding of it. And the better you understand something, the harder it will be to stump you.

- Think about possible questions. Predicting and answering questions ahead of time helps kids gain more mastery over the material and feel more confident. But try to think flexibly. "We like our tests to require people to solve the problem, but often not in the way we taught them the problem," warns Dr. Cruger. So if you know you will have some essay questions to answer, try to predict what the topics might be and practice writing your answer ahead of time. If you know there will be some word problems, think about how the things you've learned in class might be turned into a word problem. Look at the word problems that already came up on homework assignments.

Even after having done all you can to prepare, it's still good to be armed with some strategies for getting through the test and putting the brakes on any anxiety you might start feeling in the moment.

- Have a plan: Dr. Schuster says that kids who learn and use basic test-taking strategies tend to feel more confident. For example he recommends:

Don't spend too much time on any one question.

If it's a multiple choice test, read each answer and then cross out the ones you know aren't right to help yourself narrow it down.

Pick an answer and stick with it-we all have the tendency to second-guess ourselves and it can lead to wasted time and wrong answers.

- Break things up: When you start to feel panicked, look for a way to change the focus. For example, Dr. Cruger says that if he sees a question that really throws him off during a test-the kind of question that makes him think, "Is this written in English?!"-he will sometimes turn to the last page and answer the last question first. "Somehow breaking up the routine seems to be helpful for getting things done," he says. "Other people have told me they do this, too."

- Practice calming techniques: Sometimes kids like to bring things like worry stones into tests that they can use almost like a stress ball. Practicing deep breathing and using mindfulness techniques can also be effective.

- Accept when you don't know something. Sometimes the best way to manage your anxiety is to accept that you don't know the answer to a question and move on. If you feel like the test was unfair and didn't give you a chance to show your knowledge, you can advocate with the teacher later.

- Accommodations Some kids who really struggle with test anxiety may also be eligible for accommodations during test time. For example, some kids might need to get up and take a break during a test if they are really starting to panic and need to calm themselves down. Sometimes kids get more time because they aren't working at an optimal speed because they're experiencing low grade panic throughout the test. Kids may even be eligible for a modified version of the test.

Sometimes it can be hard to convince kids to start using new study or test-taking strategies. "You always need to sort of sell kids on the idea of trying something different," warns Dr. Cruger. This can be frustrating for parents and teachers, who only want to help, but Dr. Cruger points out that "Kids are being asked to learn lots and lots of stuff from very well intentioned adults all the time."

If they don't understand the rationale behind a new study method, they probably aren't going to adopt it, so parents and professionals working with kids should be explicit about how a new technique might be helpful.

But when kids start feeling like they've studied well and they know the material and they have strategies to fall back on if they need them, their attitudes going into a test will transform. And having the right attitude is important. "I think the best test-taking mindset is something along the lines of 'I'm a monster, I'm going to kill this test. There's no way I can be fooled or do badly,' " says Dr. Cruger.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tips for Beating Test Anxiety - Child Mind Institute

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn test anxiety tips for children. Child Mind Institute teaches study strategies and coping skills that reduce anxiety and improve performance.

# data[].attributes.headline
Test Anxiety Tips for Elementary Students

# data[].attributes.subject
Test Anxiety Tips for Elementary Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Test day jitters are striking earlier than ever. In most states, standardized testing aligned with the Common Core begins in second or third grade, but a few states administer standardized tests as early as kindergarten. Many children experience test day anxiety at some point, so learn some tips and techniques to help your child manage it from a young age.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Test Anxiety Tips for Elementary Students | Standardized Tests | Common Core

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Test day jitters are striking earlier than ever. In most states, standardized testing aligned with the Common Core begins in second or third grade, but a few states administer standardized tests as early as kindergarten. Many children experience test day anxiety at some point, so learn some tips and techniques to help your child manage it from a young age.

# data[].attributes.headline
Test Anxiety & Test-Taking Skills for Elementary Learners

# data[].attributes.subject
Test Anxiety & Test-Taking Skills for Elementary Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Test Anxiety & Test-Taking Skills for Elementary Learners - Music City Counselor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An overwhelmed, exhausted, and overworked 3rd grade teacher walked into my office. It was April – standardized testing season. With panic in her voice, she shared that she was up all night worrying about whether she had prepared her students well enough for THE TEST. Had she done enough intervention…

# data[].attributes.headline
Growth Mindset Stick It Together Activity

# data[].attributes.subject
Growth Mindset Stick It Together Activity

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Help Students Focus on What They're Learning, Not the Grade

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Help Students Focus on What They're Learning, Not the Grade

# data[].attributes.body
While this is written for older students, it has some great tips that can be applicable to our younger ones as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Help Students Focus on What They’re Learning, Not the Grade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Work that emphasizes students’ developing skills instead of a graded product reminds them to see learning as their goal.

# data[].attributes.headline
3 Ways Student Data Can Inform Your Teaching

# data[].attributes.subject
3 Ways Student Data Can Inform Your Teaching

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free Personalized Growth Mindset Coloring Page

# data[].attributes.headline
Principal’s Letter To Concerned Parents Before Exams Has Internet Cheering.

# data[].attributes.subject
Principal’s Letter To Concerned Parents Before Exams Has Internet Cheering.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome to /r/GetMotivated! We're glad you made it. This is the subreddit that will help you finally get up and do what you *know* you need to do. It's the subreddit to give and receive motivation through pictures, videos, text, music, AMA's, personal stories, and anything and everything that you find particularly motivating and/or inspiring. So browse around, ask questions, give advice, form/join a support group. But don't spend too much time here; you've got *better* things to do.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
[Image] A school principal sent this letter to the parents before the exams

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to /r/GetMotivated! We're glad you made it. This is the subreddit that will help you finally get up and do what you *know* you need to do. It's the subreddit to give and receive motivation through pictures, videos, text, music, AMA's, personal stories, and anything and everything that you find particularly motivating and/or inspiring.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
[Image] A school principal sent this letter to the parents before the exams from GetMotivated