Anxiety In High School

Words: 492
Pages: 2

"Anxiety is one of the most pervasive mental health concerns affecting students, yet a significant number of students with anxiety disorders remain underserved. If left untreated, anxiety can hinder students' personal/social, academic, and career development" (Thompson). Anxiety in high school can come in many different forms. The most common anxiety disorders found in schools are test or performance anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. "About 8 percent of today’s U.S. teens suffer from some type of diagnosed anxiety disorder and anxiety has been on the rise among children and young adults since at least the 1950s" (Dwyer). Each disorder has different affects on the student. However, anxiety will with out a doubt will have a negative affect on school and social performance if left untreated. In order to stop anxiety and help the students experiencing this disorder, high schools need to take action such as having special counselors on hand if the students need help, educating the teachers on anxiety and how to correctly accommodate students with this disorder, allowing students to leave as necessary during an anxious period, and altering the exam …show more content…
Test anxiety could afflict as much as 20 percent of the school-going population and another 18 percent may have a moderate form of the condition (Strauss). According to Diane Peters Mayer, "Every student understand that taking a test means [he or] she will be graded, judged, and compared to [his or] her classmates, and that performing badly will likely net … negative consequences from [his or] her teacher and parents" (page 77). Many students will fear taking a test because of the outcome. While test anxiety can be treated, "children who experience the kind of test anxiety that creates distress or low test scores are at a disadvantage when it comes to being successful in the classroom"