FAQs & Resources for Test Prep

There is so much we can do about that! 

At RTC, we understand that it doesn’t matter what you know if you can’t perform under pressure on Test Day. Most test-takers feel the pressure-cooker of high-stakes testing.

RTC has become one of few resources nationally for evidence-based mindfulness performance coaching. As a result, we attract families from across the United States whose students are already suffering from the symptoms of test stress in school. We understand that test stress steals points from students, and that a calamity in the testing room can cause test hiccups for even highly confident students. 

Your student does not have to suffer in test-taking!

We resource all our test-takers with evidence-based mind-body-spirit skills. By the end of test prep, students who have invested in the process become calm, confident, focused test-takers who can take their best test on Test Day. What’s more, the strategies that have helped them conquer the test help them manage other “performance” moments in life with grace and self-belief.

Standardized tests can be grueling. Grade inflation over the past 35 years means that most students applying for college have an A average. However, the majority of these students test below readiness in the skills required for college. Thus, their experience of standardized tests so far has usually been that they can’t feel prepared, they don’t feel in control, and there’s so much they feel unsure about. For a student who is used to getting A’s, a standardized test can feel like a gauntlet that brings out their worst test-taking tendencies.

Every day, students tell us that the SAT and ACT feel different to them than tests at school. They know that a lot counts on Test Day, and students manage this feeling of pressure in various ways. We also hear from highly motivated students that feeling like they are “incorrect” or “don’t know” is synonymous with “failure.” It’s not uncommon for us to hear “I’m an idiot” from a student already scoring well.

At RTC, we attract students across the spectrum of test confidence, calm, and focus. On one end are high-achieving, high-functioning test-takers aiming for their peak performance. Students at the other extreme have sought us because they can’t successfully take a test. Sometimes, even high-achieving students have been hiding significant levels of test anxiety and suffering silently. That’s why we are so detailed and thoughtful in our assessment process: we need to know your student to serve their needs well.

Most students have some anxious thinking processes that interfere with efficient, elite test- taking, like getting stuck between two answers, feeling intimidated by an unexpected question, second-guessing, feeling haunted by a previous question, or spiraling as the test gets harder. Coaching helps students develop a toolkit for resolving these processes and developing confidence as test-takers.

Further, mind-body skills can help with more insidious mental effects of stress, like “blanking out” and the “snow globe” effect on thinking. These classic stress responses can usually be prevented, and easily be cured. In addition, some students feel various normal physical stressors from tests, and ensuring they can both calm their nervous systems and direct their energies positively may be an essential goal of performance coaching.

Other students are overwhelmed by the entirety of the test. Though they try to get it done, they can struggle to keep motivation as their natural mental focus wanes. In addition, they may find themselves “zoning out” periodically during the test, or reading a paragraph and then realizing they had no idea what they read. Again, evidence-based strategies can help here.

Finally, many students struggle with their perception of time on a standardized test. Test- taking is a balance of accuracy and pace, but many students feel so chased by the clock that they struggle to perform. Here, coaching is essential to help a student perceive test time as a window instead of a box.

In addition, performance strategies are an insurance policy. Mind-body science enables students to regulate their thinking processes and nervous systems so that they can resource themselves to take a calm, confident, and focused test, no matter what.

Anything can happen on Test Day: a bad proctor who miscalculates the time for a test section, wrongly confiscates a timer, or is typing on a keyboard the entire test; a student who is coughing, tapping, or otherwise distracting the test-taker; a fire alarm, tornado warning, sick student, or technical issue that can throw off a test-taker in the middle of their test-taking.

All of this, and more, has happened to our test-takers, but evidence-based tools help test-takers manage these stressful situations – the unexpected in a high-pressure situation – so that no matter what on Test Day, students can ensure their success. Mindfulness performance coaching is an essential tool in test prep, and it helps students to achieve despite any obstacle in their path.

Kobe Bryant used to say that the difference between “constantly chasing the day” and “being able to control and dictate the day” was his 15-minute morning mindfulness practice. We cannot stress enough what a difference mindfulness performance coaching can make.

Beyond the research, we know our strategies work because of feedback from families. Parents tell us that one of the ways they measured their child’s success was that their formerly fearful, anxious test-taker emerged from their SAT or ACT with a smile on their face, saying, “I took a great test!” That’s one of our favorite things to hear at RTC.

You can read more about our Mindfulness Performance Coaching and the research behind it here.