Pre-test jitters are adrenaline doing its job. A racing heart is not a forecast.

What you feel before a test is your body getting ready: more blood, faster breathing, sharper focus, which is what you would want for something difficult. It feels identical to dread because the equipment is shared. The mistake is reading the sensation as a prediction about the result. It is readiness being issued, not a verdict being delivered.

When it starts, remind yourself which kind it is, then put the energy somewhere: write down the first thing you remember, read the first question twice. Keep your routine before a test identical each time, so the feeling has something ordinary to attach to.