If the stress of an exam has ever caused your mind to "blank", this article was made for you!
Picture this: you are a university student who dreams of getting into a very competitive program. You know you have to achieve high grades or else admissions won't even consider your application. In 10 minutes, you have a final exam for one of your required courses, and it's worth more than 50% of your final grade. You have prepared for this exam as much as was humanly possible, but for some reason you still feel stressed, scared and anxious. You sit down in your assigned seat and the supervisor signals that the test has begun. You look at the first question and all of a sudden you are drawing a blank. You know that you've seen this question and have answered it correctly during your exam preparation, but for some reason in this moment, you just can’t think of it. You move on to the next question hoping for a better outcome, but the same thing happens. You keep skipping through the questions until you eventually find one you can answer. After successfully answering a question, you notice that you feel slightly calmer, so you decide to come back to the questions you skipped. Suddenly you are able to answer them with such ease, you're shocked that you couldn’t come up with the answers earlier.
If you can relate to this story, then you know just how terrifying "blanking" on an exam can be. Unfortunately, the CASPer test's 5 minute time constraint is a perfect formula for increasing the occurrence of blanking, and is the worst exam to blank on!
What causes your mind to go blank during an exam?
When a threat is sensed, the hypothalamus induces the production of several key stress hormones, including norepinephrine and cortisol.
Large concentrations of norepinephrine enter the prefrontal cortex, dampening neuronal firing and impairing effective communication. This impairment primarily clears your working memory (in other words, whatever you were thinking is gone now) and prevents the rational, logical prefrontal cortex from affecting other brain areas.
At the same time, large concentrations of cortisol enter the hippocampus, not only disrupting patterns of activation, but also killing hippocampal neurons (with extended exposure). This prevents the capacity to access old memories and distorts new memory perception and storage.
In summary, when an examination is perceived as a threat and a stress response is triggered, working memory is wiped clean and mechanisms for recall are disrupted.
What to do before your CASPer exam to reduce the risk of blanking?
1) CASPer test prep
The best way to decrease test anxiety is to be well prepared for the exam. Yes, it seems obvious, but it is worth repeating. If you feel confident that you have adequately prepared, you're going to feel more comfortable going into the exam. If you're afraid you're studying incorrectly or you don't know how to study properly, consider checking out our FREE CASPER resources that will help you build confidence and decrease stress so you can master the CASPer.
2) Be mentally and emotionally prepared
Try to keep a positive attitude as you prepare for the CASPer. Picture yourself going into the exam, being calm and confident, reading through the test and answering all of the questions. Realize that if you do your absolute best, that's all anyone can ask of you. Understand that it's not a matter of life and death, even if you don't do as well as you would like. If you start getting nervous, slowly take a few deep breaths to relax before proceeding.
3) Physically prepare your body
Make sure you optimize your sleep, physical activity and nutrition. Getting sufficient rest is likely to be more helpful than re-reading a text until dawn or pulling an all-nighter which may exacerbate your nerves. Do some physical activity, exercising for a few days before the test will help reduce stress. Eat good foods before a test that offer a steady stream of nutrients (like fish), rather than a sugar high followed by a crash.
4) Have a CASPer test strategy
During your CASPer test, it’s imperative to have a strategy to tackle the various types of questions you will encounter. For this part, we have created “The ULTIMATE Master CASPer Guide”, it’s 100% free, and you should definitely check it out. In general, some useful tips are: read all the questions closely before starting, answer the questions you know in advance. Reserve 10% of your exam time at the end to adjust and review your responses. On test day, prepare to take your CASPer test early, feeling rushed can only increase your anxiety. When studying, make sure the location you practice in, is the same location you plan on using to take the actual CASPer. Some things to incorporate into your practice regime are timed replies, writing without breaks, and limiting noise and interruptions. Also, make sure your CASPer preparation is spaced out over a few weeks or months, don't wait until the night before and try to learn everything then.
5) If you qualify, apply for CASPer test accommodations right away
If you qualify for accommodations, ensure that you apply for them more than 3 weeks prior to your CASPer test date. To find out more, check out our post on CASPer test accommodations. Examples of accommodations available for the CASPer include:
- Extended time
- Closed-captioned videos
- Assistive software (i.e. speech to text)
- Assistive staff (i.e. scribe and/or reader)
What to do if you blank during your CASPer exam?
So you've prepared for your CASPer test well in advance and understand your task, but for some unknown (and very frustrating) reason, you've found yourself drawing a blank... the following strategies will get you back on track in no time!
A) Keep in mind that this is not a life-threatening situation (even if it feels like it), and you're going to get through it. Take a moment to close your eyes, take a deep breath and expire slowly, until you return to your normal breath. If you need to do this several times during the examination and you are afraid of running out of time, remember that this is better than being unable to type anything at all during the test. Deep breathing can slow down a high heart rate or a racing mind, so at home, practice these techniques. The very act of focusing on your breath and thoughts can alter those anxious feelings. Here is a link for more on calming mindfulness techniques: https://www.everyday-mindfulness.org/3-quick-mindfulness-practices-to-overcome-worry-anxiety-and-panic/
B) If you blank, just start writing , the empty text boxes can increase your anxiety. After reading the questions, dive straight into it, start with the questions which you know how to answer and build up your confidence and momentum.
C) Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are omitted when your test is graded so don’t worry about that, just try and get your main points across, a few quick responses can help get the ball rolling. If all of a sudden you blank mid-response, just leave the question you are working on and proceed with a question you feel more confident about. You can always go back and change things later if needed.
D) Finally, remembering that some test-taking anxiety is a normal reaction to the stress of the CASPer test can help make it easier to handle.
If you need a confidence boost, be sure to use the tips covered in our articles (scroll down for links), the many resources Master Casper has to offer, and when you feel ready, practice all of your acquired strategies with our CASPer practice tests.
With Master Casper collaboration training you have a unique opportunity not only to take CASPer practice tests, but also to put yourself in the shoes of a CASPer test rater, this is the best platform to help you learn and grow, it will allow you to see for yourself what makes an answer stand out from the rest, what characteristics to look for in an answer, and it will allow you to compare your answers to those of others.
Join the Master Casper community and together we will succeed!
The Ultimate guide to Master Casper was created by compiling the best tips and tricks from 14 students that got accepted to medical programs via the CASPer test in 2017 and 2018.