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[anne.monjar]

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[tommywallach]

Hey Anne,

Well, it's possible it's just noise in the data, but as you must know, the only logical explanation for this is simply that you are coming into the test a little bit wired/nervous, and it's affecting you in this way. Once you hit your groove, you're fine again. The solution for problems like this is the tried-and-true. Make sure you are well-rested and well-fed and not over caffeinated. Before a test starts, try to do whatever calms you: speaking a mantra, meditating, or (most likely) just taking a few deep breaths. Deep breaths sound cheesy and useless, but a lot of data has backed up the power of breathing to calm nerves. Even just knowing that you're psyching yourself out a bit may help. Any of this ring true?

-t