Approximately 1 million students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will start NAPLAN tests today.
NAPLAN is a national assessment program of numeracy and literacy attainment that helps measure individual as well as school, regional and state standards.
“Literacy and numeracy are at the heart of everything that goes on in schools, and it makes sense to check in on how students are progressing. NAPLAN provides important information to parents, schools and the community that cannot be obtained anywhere else, and which can be used to identify strategies to improve educational results,” said Robert Randall, CEO of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), which develops NAPLAN tests.
“NAPLAN tests fundamental skills in reading, writing and mathematics. The tests take only a few hours over the course of a few days, and students sit the tests every other year.”
“The core business of schools and teachers is to develop these skills is by teaching and testing a robust and diverse curriculum.”
“Parents can also play a big role in developing their childrens’ literacy and numeracy skills. This can be done in many ways, such as reading to children and encouraging them to read, and incorporating numbers and mathematics into everyday household activities.”
Students sit tests in language conventions and writing today, with reading tested the following day and numeracy on Thursday. Each individual test takes between 40 and 65 minutes, depending on year level.
Parents should be aware that NAPLAN tests are not compulsory. The current withdrawal rate is less than 2%.
A study of 8,300 teachers and principals last year concluded that, in some schools, children are not learning much beyond passing the NAPLAN test.
Many critics of NAPLAN believe it puts undue stress on students because it is seen as 'high stakes testing'. Some schools are also considered to be 'teaching to NAPLAN' so their school does well in the NAPLAN results, rather than teaching the full school curriculum. Read more here.
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