Test anxiety: the one study habit that protects memory under stress

As of October 2026. Every number below is sourced; the list is at the end.

A parent asked me this at a college fair last week: if my kid isn't a great test taker, should he or she bother to test?

Yes. "Not a great test taker" is almost never a fixed trait. It is usually a study habit problem in a costume.

The habit that fixes it is taking practice tests. In a 2016 study published in Science, students who learned material by testing themselves showed no memory loss when they were stressed a day later, while students who learned by rereading showed the usual drop. As of October 2026, that is the clearest answer I know for a nervous student: how you studied decides how much of it survives the SAT or ACT.

The comfortable belief

Most families treat test anxiety as a feelings problem. The student knows the material, we tell ourselves, and nerves get in the way on exam morning. So we work on the nerves. Sleep. Breathing. A pep talk in the car. Those things help a little.

They also treat the wrong part.

What the study found

Smith, Floerke and Thomas had people learn a set of items two ways. One group studied, then studied again. The other group studied, then quizzed themselves on it. Twenty-four hours later the researchers put stress on half of the participants, then measured what everyone remembered.

The restudy group showed the memory loss that stress normally causes. The group that had quizzed itself did not. The authors describe that second group as "immune to the deleterious effects of stress" (Science, 2016).

I want to be straight about the limits. A lab study with short material is not 2 hours and 14 minutes of real SAT in a high school cafeteria, and none of this promises your kid will feel calm. What it shows is narrower and more useful. A memory built by pulling information out holds up under pressure. A memory built by reading it again does not.

Rereading feels like learning. Stress is where the difference shows.

Why we run at least five full practice tests

That is why our programs are built this way. Our most popular program is the 1-on-1 24-hour program: one two-hour session a week for twelve weeks, two to three hours of homework a week, and at least five full-length practice ACT or SAT exams, with extra practice exams at no charge.

Full-length matters. Timed, whole exam, start to finish, in one sitting. We prepare for the whole SAT or ACT every time, never a single section. A student who has only done twenty-minute chunks has never practiced exam day. The fifth practice test is boring. Boring is the point. By then the room, the clock and the fatigue are familiar, and familiar is what stress has trouble shaking loose.

All that practice takes weeks, so the date matters too. June is usually the worst date we see: it lands on top of AP exams and finals, and a tense student does not need a third hard thing in the same two weeks. We steer families to a spring, summer or early fall date instead.

Ella came to us at a 22 on the ACT and finished at a 34, a 12-point gain that put her in the top 1% nationwide, and she tells it herself in this video.

She is not the only one. Students who finish and started at 1350 or below average a 190-point SAT gain, from 1210 to 1400, which moves them from the 77th percentile to the 93rd. Sixty-three percent of our SAT students gain 200 points or more. Those are averages for students who finished; individual results vary. You can see the full numbers on our results page.

Practice tests are not a measurement of the prep. They are the prep.

The move

Count the weeks between now and your student's next SAT or ACT, and protect six to twelve of them for real preparation. Then book the two free diagnostic exams, one ACT and one SAT, so you know which exam fits your kid before anyone pays for anything: prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step or call 949.229.5359.

Questions parents ask

Does taking practice tests really help with test anxiety?

The 2016 Science study found that people who learned by quizzing themselves showed no memory loss when stressed a day later, while people who learned by rereading showed the usual drop. It does not promise a calm student, but the memory holds up better.

How many full practice tests should my child take before the SAT or ACT?

Our most popular program includes at least five full-length practice ACT or SAT exams over twelve weeks, with extra practice exams at no charge. Each one is timed and taken start to finish in one sitting.

How long before the exam should we start?

Six to twelve weeks of preparation, covering the whole SAT or ACT rather than one section. Start by booking the two free diagnostic exams, one ACT and one SAT, to see which exam fits your student. Avoid the June date if you can — it lands on top of AP exams and finals; spring, summer and early fall are the calmer dates.

If my kid isn't a great test taker, should he or she bother to test?

Usually yes. "Not a great test taker" is more often a study habit than a fixed trait. Ella came to us at a 22 on the ACT and finished at a 34, a 12-point gain that put her in the top 1% nationwide.

Written by Nick Standlea, founder of Test Prep Gurus. Updated October 2026.

Sources

At Test Prep Gurus we teach students how to raise their grades and scores on the ACT, SAT, ISEE, HSPT, APs so they can reach their goals for college and beyond.

It all starts with 3 steps:

  1. Complete practice exams.

  2. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to review your exam results.

  3. Create a 1-on-1 test prep plan to reach your goals for college and beyond.

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