This is particularly important for exams outside an academic context. My daughter was having an eye exam when she was young. Because this was an “exam,” she thought she could fail and that would be bad. As a result, she just closed up and didn’t say anything.

I had to coach her after her first attempt and let her know that this isn’t an exam that you pass or fail. It’s an exam to see where you are so they can understand how to help you. Once I did that, she was fine, and we were able to find out what was wrong.