Parents blame NAPLAN school tests for kids crying, losing sleep and feeling sick, survey says CHILDREN have been left in tears, feeling sick and unable to sleep in the lead-up to their NAPLAN tests, a survey of parents has found. But despite many of their children showing signs of stress and anxiety, most mums and dads still support the controversial testing scheme. The findings of the Newspoll survey of more than 500 parents, released by the Whitlam Institute, revealed 56 per cent were in favour of the national literacy and numeracy tests being run in schools, with 34 per cent against them. More than 41 per cent reported their child showed signs of anxiety either before the tests or while the exams were on, with a fear of "freezing up" the most common complaint. Some 13 per cent of parents said their children had experienced sleeplessness, while 12 per cent nominated students feeling sick and six per cent reported they had been crying. Institute director Eric Sidoti said the proportion of parents who reported children suffering stress because of the "high-stakes testing" approach was a "surprising" result, and the amount of distress kids were under appeared to go beyond everyday exam pressures. "NAPLAN is carrying a hell of a lot of weight now, which is giving it a significance well above it being used as simply a diagnostic tool," he said. The data is published on the MySchool website and can be used to directly compare schools, as well as creating "league tables" ranking the top and bottom performers. Many teachers have complained that preparation for the NAPLAN exams took up valuable class time because they were encouraged to "teach for the test" in the quest for better school results. Only 17 per cent of parents surveyed said they had visited the MySchool site in the past year to compare results from their child's school with others. Fathers were more supportive of NAPLAN testing than mums, according to the survey. NSW Federation of Parents and Citizens' Associations spokeswoman Rachael Sowden said parents had complained their kids were stressed out because of the tests and many were unsure how to help them cope. She said if used properly, they were a diagnostic tool that helped schools to support children who needed it. But if you are spending six weeks cramming for one of these tests, that's inappropriate. Education Minister Christopher Pyne previously said he would consider banning the publication of NAPLAN data because it was "skewing" teaching methods.