For thousands of Queensland students today marks the start of a testing time, called NAPLAN week.

The nationwide test for literacy and numeracy has drawn heavy criticism, about the pressure it can place on some kids.

Mitchell Dunk reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Media access was heavily restricted at schools to make the NAPLAN tests as stress free as possible.

The test, which assesses grade three, five, seven and nine students, has come under fire for categorising students according to their scores.

Psychologists also argue it can have detrimental effects on some young kids.

Judith Locke, Clinical Psychologist: “As parents we have to accept our children as they are, their strengths, their weaknessess, we can’t produce perfection in every area and to expect that of our children is to put ridiculous pressure on them.”

Some students have developed their own routines to deal with the stress of tests.

Zoe Balmanno, student: “I Just get a good night’s sleep, Mrs Morris said we should go for a run. So, like, do some exercise so we’re really tired and get a good breakfast.”

But the results can be a useful tool for parents.

Each school’s Naplan results are uploaded to the ‘MySchool’ website and used by parents to compare individual schools but critics say it’s not the only indicator.

Judith Locke, Clinical Psychologist: “It’s only a measure at a point in time it’s not the be all and end all in terms of a student’s ability and it shouldn’t have all the hype around it that’s been built up.”

By the end of this week it’ll all be over.

Vox 1: “Are You Excited, you just can’t wait to be done? Yep. Good on You.”

Mitchell Dunk, QUT News.