NAPLAN test causing anxiety amongst students is a ‘concern’

New research has found 69 per cent of parents say there kids are anxious or very anxious about the NAPLAN tests.

Chief Learning Officer at Cluey Learning, Dr Selina Samuels, told Tom Elliott it is “normal” for kids to feel anxious before a test but the “concern” is kids are feeling anxious months before the NAPLAN tests.

“There seems to be a lot of uncertainity about NAPLAN and a lot of hype around it among the kids that they don’t know what to encounter,” she said.

“It is not just the kids from the earlier years, it is partly because in some cases they don’t feel prepared.

“The unfamilarity and the sense they don’t know what’s going to happen is fueling some of that concern.

“The child is anxious because they don’t think they can do well, they are not confident they have skills, they don’t know how to apply the skills.”

Ms Samuels said the results tell us kids aren’t equipped with the tactical skills they need which is a concern.

“This is something we need to address, we can address this quite consistently.”

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