Anxiety is one of the most basic human emotions and occurs in every person at some time, most often when someone is apprehensive about uncertain outcomes of an event or set of circumstances. Anxiety can serve an adaptive function, however, and is also a marker for typical development. In the school setting, anxiety is experienced often by students when being evaluated, such as when taking a test or giving a public performance. Most adolescents cope with these situations well, but there is a subset of up to 30% of students who experience severe anxiety, a condition most often termed "test anxiety." When test anxiety is severe, it can have significant negative effects on a student's ability to perform at an optimal level. Over time, test anxiety tends to generalize to many evaluative situations, contributing to more pervasive underachievement. Additional consequences of chronic test anxiety can include lowered self-esteem, reduced effort, and loss of motivation for school tasks. Other forms of anxiety that can be seen in the school include generalized anxiety, fears, phobias, social anxiety, and extreme social withdrawal. This article discusses anxiety and provides some school-based interventions that can help minimize its negative impact. (Contains 1 figure.)