A million students are set to sharpen pencils and, for the first time, settle in front of their computers for the annual NAPLAN tests.
Nearly one in five students across the country will sit the controversial tests from Tuesday, being challenged on reading, writing and maths.
It's natural they will feel anxious about the tests but Robert Randall from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority says there's no need to.
"Children should be reminded that it's not a big deal, that it's a short assessment taken only four times during their schooling," he said.
Students across years three, five, seven and nine will each sit four tests of 40-65 minutes each.
This year is stage one of a three-year transition to online testing.
But the Australian Education Union want state and territory ministers to abandon the rollout.
Federal president Correna Haythorpe said many schools didn't have the capacity or resources to test online, reinforcing inequality in classrooms.
"Students from low socio-economic backgrounds will be disadvantaged," she said.
"These results will not show us learning outcomes, they will show us whether or not a child has had access to technology and how proficient they are at using that technology."
The online testing window is nine days compared to three for those using paper tests to cater for schools with fewer devices.
The Queensland Teachers Union has released data showing almost half their surveyed members never or rarely use the test findings, while 85 per cent have used practice tests to prepare students but believed that time could have been better spent.
