Proactive Academic Stress Screening in Education: NPRO-8 Core Mental Fitness Screening

Academic stress is a longstanding concern in education, with evidence linking it to examination difficulties, disrupted sleep, and poorer wellbeing. A student support pathway that depends on students requesting help or showing visible deterioration risks intervening only after difficulties have affected daily functioning. This paper proposes NPRO-8 Core as a new approach to proactive, objective assessment of stress-related functioning in students. Its preventive rationale is to create opportunities for recognition and support before difficulties escalate. A two-tier pathway combines brief screening offered across an institution with targeted functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) assessment during structured cognitive tasks. The assessment considers Stress Load, Recovery Capacity, and Functional Impact, with repeated measurements intended to support review over time. Questionnaires provide access to students’ experiences; physiological and behavioural measures add a complementary perspective that does not depend solely on recognizing and reporting distress. The proposed contribution is to integrate these sources into a proactive student support pathway. Drawing on the preventive logic of physical-health screening, the framework links measurement to timely review and appropriate action.