NAPLAN test time for our trailblazing students

Starting today, 84,000 students in SA will sit down to do NAPLAN tests. Do you think it’s a good way to track and improve student outcomes?

Wirreanda students will this week be among the first in the state to do the Year 7 NAPLAN test in a high school setting.

Wirreanda, John Pirie Secondary and Mitcham Girls all have Year 7 students this year as part of a trial before all public high schools take on that year level next year.

Setting up the tests in a bigger school meant dedicated areas could be assigned for the students, Wirreanda teacher Natasha Paffett said.

“But the process remains the same,” said Ms Paffett, who transferred from teaching at a primary school.

“My Year 7 maths and science students aren’t too nervous about it.”

Starting today, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy tests will be taken by 84,000 students in South Australia, and more than one million across the country, in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Flinders University associate professor David Curtin said NAPLAN did not assess individual students with any precision.

“Most variation in student achievement is attributable to non-school factors, therefore, schools with low average achievement should not be blamed for it and schools with high average achievement should not take the credit for it,” he said.

Ms Paffett said she understood the debate about NAPLAN, but found it was useful.

“It can pick up trends and helps inform our practice,” she said.

Education Minister John Gardner said NAPLAN was used alongside other data to help guide teachers.

“This is not about passing or failing but assessing learning progress to ensure schools can provide the best support to their students,” he said.

Some teachers, principals and parents are against NAPLAN with groups like Boycott NAPLAN, a coalition of educators and parents, encouraging parents to withdraw their kids from testing.

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has dismissed the campaign, saying NAPLAN was “absolutely critical to tracking and improving student outcomes”.

“Far from scrapping it, we’re improving it by shifting to online tests so teachers and parents can get results faster,” Mr Tudge said.