NSW teaching students will face personality assessments from next year, the NSW Board of Studies has confirmed.

The President of the NSW Council of Deans of Education, Chris Davison, said the assessments will draw from tests similar to those undertaken for the army and will weed out candidates unsuited to teaching before they begin their degrees.

"The challenge is to have one that works for teaching. You probably need a much higher degree of empathy than you do in the army," she said.

Professor Davison said that the national program was necessary despite tough new regulations on literacy and numeracy imposed by the NSW government.