NAPLAN Test Preparation And Kids’ Mental Health : What You Need To Know?

When we think about health, we speak only about physical health. And we tend to ignore mental health. Especially in school-going kids, it’s crucial to continuously observe and analyze their mental health. In Australia, one among seven kids suffers from some kind of mental health issue like anxiety, ADHD. And this is not different for NAPLAN phobia in kids. As the kids start to suffer these mental health issues, they tend to stay away from social life, and are more absent from school and daily activities. This, in turn, affects their ability to learn and perform well in tests, and even they start losing interest in everything. 

Mental health problems in kids may get expended many years in the future, if not taken care of immediately. Taking care of mental health is just as important as taking care of physical health during exam preparation, let alone the NAPLAN exams. Continue reading below to learn more about NAPLAN and Kid’s mental health, and how to help your child to stay fit mentally during NAPLAN preparation. 

NAPLAN Test Preparation and Kids’ Mental Health

As we’ve already stated, the NAPLAN testing system has raised controversial opinions. Some kids take this as a challenge in a positive way to learn better. While, few take this as an extra burden, which ends up with comparing their ability with others. That’s why it’s important to understand the NAPLAN’s actual objective.  

As parents, teachers, and caretakers know, a student’s performance on any given exam can have a big impact on their future. Even worse, many people assume that simply because a child scores poorly on an exam, they have a low ability or troubled mind. But this is just not true. Similarly, the NAPLAN exam is just another test that assesses students on numeracy and literacy skills. Not the student’s overall learning skills or ability. 

A keynote to Parents and Teachers: 

As the NAPLAN tests approach, parents and teachers are eager to get started on the right foot. But how do you know if your child is ready for that? And what do you do if you find out they aren’t ready? Here are a few things to keep in mind:  

Your child’s IQ is not the same as your child’s age. IQ is a complex thing that depends on a number of factors, including cognitive ability, learning ability, and personality. Few kids tend to score higher on the NAPLAN test than you might expect based on their age. So, try to be patient as your child grows older and learns new skills. Your child’s learning style may differ from your own. This means your child may do better on one assessment type but struggle on another.  

Protect your Child’s Metal Health during NAPLAN: 

As we all know, preparing for exams can be stressful. But did you know that your child’s mental health can also be affected during this time? That’s why it’s important to make sure you take care of your child and yourself too, both physically and mentally during exam preparation. 

Here are some NAPLAN tips and tricks to help you do that: 

Ø  Getting enough sleep: This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s important that your kid gets enough sleep when preparing for NAPLAN exams. A tired body and mind will not be able to function at their best at exam times. 

Ø  Eat healthy: Just like the body needs fuel to function, so does the brain. Eating a healthy diet will help to think more clearly and give the energy needed to get through long study sessions without feeling exhausted and stressed. 

Ø  Exercise: Exercise is another great way to relieve your kid’s stress and boost mood. Even a short walk around the house can make a difference. 

Ø  Take breaks: It’s important to take breaks during the study and teaching sessions to give their mind some rest. Once they’ve had a break, they’ll be able to focus better. 

Ø  Work with your child’s teacher to identify their strengths and help them work on those in lessons. But if you see overall low performance on the assessments, make sure they are working on problem-solving, reading, and other skills that will help them succeed and relax about the next tests. 

Ø  Read about some NAPLAN tips and tricks online, from old students, experts, and educators. That will give some ideas to change your and your child’s perceptions towards NAPLAN preparation. 

Help your child to prepare well – give them a good study plan and prepare them well from the beginning, instead of drilling on over practice a week before the exam. NAPLAN test preparation can be mentally exhausting for parents also, along with students. But to make it easy and stress-free for them, choose better sources of preparation. Especially for NAPLAN preparation year 3 and NAPLAN preparation year 5, they need more support than year 7, and 9. As this is the age they start learning basic, as well as new skills, it’s important how you teach them. 

Let them practice the previous years’ NAPLAN test papers, from ACARA or from any other sources online. But that’s not all required. Talk to them frequently about how their preparation is going on, and if they need help with any topics. Keep it casual; don’t force them to study all the topics in a day. Make sure that they enjoy their study and preparation, rather than taking it as a burden. 

No matter how much they prepare, they will end up getting low scores in NAPLAN, if they are facing it with stress and anxiety. As per some studies, NAPLAN fear in students has caused them to score lower than other students. So it’s up to the teachers and parents, to maintain good mental health among kids during NAPLAN preparation.