A Wellington principal has spoken out about what she says are unprecedented levels of stress among secondary school students.
NCEA and Scholarship exams started this week.
Wellington Girls' College principal Julia Davidson says too many young people are suffering anxiety disorders because of the pressure associated with their education, and three years of high-stakes assessment might be too much.
Davidson says teenagers are feeling the pressure of years of assessment and increasingly tough entry requirements for many university courses.
She is not alone in noticing an increase in the problem. Last year, the Education Review Office found that school counsellors were dealing with more and more complex problems.
Julia Davidson says her school does everything it can to support students experiencing such difficulties, including using its own counsellor, external agencies and students' families.
She believes one solution might be to reduce the NCEA from three levels to two and her school will assess fewer standards next year.