NAPLAN testing at 69 Adelaide schools disrupted by internet outage

NAPLAN testing has kicked off in chaos for students across almost 70 Adelaide schools in the first year without back-up paper tests.

NAPLAN testing has kicked off in chaos for thousands of students across Adelaide after a major internet outage shut down the online system.

Almost 70 schools were affected by the outage, which struck at about 12.15pm on Thursday and lasted about an hour.

This year marks the final stage of the transition to online assessments, with all students in years 3, 5 and 7 completing the literacy and numeracy tests electronically without back-up paper tests.

It is also the first time testing will be conducted over a two-week period to allow children who are away due to Covid-19 to take part.

Affected schools will now be scrambling to reschedule the disrupted assessments within that window.

“Tests are scheduled as soon as possible within the testing window,” a Department of Education spokeswoman said.

“In accordance with the nationally agreed NAPLAN protocols, schools encountering technical difficulties are able to reschedule any test sessions within that window.”

Westport Primary School year 5 students (L-R) Zara, Ruby and Cailin, who sat their NAPLAN tests on Wednesday. It is unclear if any students from the school were affected by the outage. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Salisbury East High School was forced to reschedule afternoon parent-teacher interviews due the “statewide outage”, informing parents through the school’s Facebook page.
“With the internet down statewide in (Department of Education) schools, many of our teachers are unable to access parent phone numbers for interviews tonight,” the post read.

“If you do not get a call at the designated time, that is the reason and teachers will call in the days (sic) to make an alternative time.”

SA Primary Principals’ Association president Angela Falkenberg urged students to remain calm over the outage despite the disruption.

“If we accept that NAPLAN is just a snapshot of a child’s two years of learning, then this is completely bearable and manageable,” Ms Falkenberg said.

She said any concerned parents should talk to teachers and understand their school’s plan going forward.

“Trust the schools. They’ve got this, they’ve have a plan … at the end of the day, you can’t control the internet.”

Salisbury East High School informed parents of the outage via their Facebook page. Picture: Facebook

A similar outage hit Queensland state schools on Wednesday, causing havoc as students were reportedly forced to move computers mid-test.

The tests often draw criticism for putting too much pressure on students and impacting schools’ rankings based on results.

But state Education Minister Blair Boyer said NAPLAN was just “one tool” to determine how a student’s learning is developing.

He also added that the tests would be brought forward to March from 2023, to assess the support that students needed earlier in the year.