Driving & Driving Test Tips: passing thr drivers test, test anxiety, studient

Question
Dear Mr. Baker,
   I sure hope you can help.I live in IN. and have a 17 year old daughter. I put her thru drivers ed and we have practiced  and she is a good driver. The problem is she can't pass the written part of the test. She has problems with test anxiety. She has failed 2 already and they said she gets one more chance and if she fails she will have to wait till she is 18. Major pressure!!!!! I have went with her both times and the person who scores the test tells me she misses a couple signs and then the multible choice. Which they let me read and honestly after driving for over 20 yrs I would have failed it too. Indiana has no web site where they can practice she is at her wits end. She does know how to read But she gets so anxious. Especially now with only having one more chance. It is destroying her self esteem.
     I have looked for flash cards that have the signs on them but apparently they don't make them. Some of the questions they ask are just plain stupid and confusing. I wonder how I got mine. Have they changed the test that much in the last 20 or so years. She is a good studient and drives very well But can't pass that stupid written test. if you have any ideas will you e-mail me as soon as possible because she is about ready to give up. Also do you know if there is someone who makes flash cards for road signs? She learns easier that way
                     Thank you very much
                          Tonya

Answer
Tonya-

I hope I can help and I do have several suggestions.

-The test is not stupid and it is possible to pass.
-Very rarely is poor performance due to test anxiety.
-Therefore, the best thing to do is learn the material.

In making these statements, I am making two very big assumptions.  One, your daughter does not have a mental challenge that makes learning more difficult.  Two, that she does not have an acute and severe case of test anxiety.  Since you say she is a good student, she would have to pass exams in school.

If you are still reading this (and I hope you are), I do have some specific suggestions:

-You are an involved parent and we know that you are the key to your daughter being a safe and successful driver.  As you said, you have 20 years of experience that she doesn't.
-Please stop saying the test is stupid or too hard.  That is passed along to your daughter.  If she thinks those things too, it will be harder to pass and she won't value it when she does.
-Flashcards are an excellent idea.  We make ours ourselves; we use 3X5 cards and cut the sign out from a picture (an extra driver's manual is good for this).  Another idea is to play pictionary with driving signs.  You would draw them and she would guess and vice versa.  As she gets more comfortable with signs, you can draw other things like road rage or drunk driving.
-Use this time to brush up on your skills.  Not only will you get benefits, it will make this easier for your daughter and she will view you as "the authority on driving".  And as well she should, right?

Last and certainly not least, there is a IN web state with the manual and sample test questions.  I am putting the link below:

http://www.in.gov/bmv/driverlicense/manual/

Good luck with this.  If you have other questions or concerns, please email me.

Michael