THERE are a number of defining moments in the senior year at high school, and the QCS test is definitely one of them.

Year 12 students from across the Southern Downs will sit their final day of the Queensland Core Skills test today, after surviving the first half of the examination yesterday.

Warwick State High School seniors filled the hall in the morning for the extended response writing task, which allowed students to show their creative flair for writing under pressure.

Student Tristan Van Hoof said the first half of the test was easier than he expected.

"It's not as scary as it's hyped up to be," he said.

"I'm pretty to keen to just get it over and done with."

There was plenty of good feeling among students at the end of the first session, with a number expressing their gratitude for the amount of in-class preparation they had for the test.

Student Maggie Hay said the first half of the test had been a lot of fun.

"We've had a lot of classes to prepare us - one per week," she said.

"The teachers have been going through the practice book with us to show us how to answer questions."

For the staff at Warwick High it can certainly be a stressful time, but Head of Senior Secondary School Judy Schimke said she was confident the students did well.

"They've been practising," she said. "The response from the students has been quite positive."

While the first half of the test yesterday focused on writing, today is set to be a mix of short responses and multiple-choice questions.

The Queensland Core Skills test contributes to the calculation of Overall Position (OP) and Field Position (FP) scores, which are used to rank students for tertiary entrance.