Survey finds constant assessments causing student stress

3 July 2015

Anela’s speech explained: Survey finds constant assessments causing student stress

Kiwi high school students are experiencing increasing levels of stress within the school environment, according to a survey by tutoring company Inspiration Education.

This survey found that that out of 307 high school students, nearly 2 of 3 students cite dealing with stress and anxiety with assessments as a major issue with their learning.

William Guzzo, Manager of Inspiration Education, cites the frequency of NCEA assessments as a large contributing factor to the results of the survey. “We have students stressed to the breaking point - staying up till 2am to work on assignments and timing showers. Some students just shut down and don’t do work at all because they’re afraid and exhausted.”

Inspiration Education are helping students de-stress by running workshops in the upcoming Term Two holidays (13-20th of July) aimed around helping Year 12 and 13 students prepare for their external exams early in the year, even if they hadn’t completely covered the topic in school.

Although these workshops will help to students, Inspiration Education questions the impact of constant assessment on students’ long term mental health and their perception of the learning process. In light of high school student Anela Pritchard’s recent speech expressing the lack of enjoyment in the learning that takes place at school, Mr. Guzzo thinks that we should remind young learners what learning is really about.

“Learning is more than books and exams; it should be about discovering more about both the universe and more about yourself,” he said.

ENDS

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