NAPLAN results Qld: State’s most improved schools revealed

Public and private schools alike have recorded incredible improvement in their most recent NAPLAN results. SEE THE MOST IMPROVED

Schools across Queensland have recorded incredible improvement in their most recent NAPLAN results, with a mix of public and private schools performing above expectations.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive David de Carvalho said as part of the MySchool relaunch in 2020, a greater emphasis was put on student progress.

Parents can now see a table which shows the percentage of students at the school whose progress was better than expected.

“The schools that are punching above their weight are those that are achieving above expectation in terms of progress on where their students were two years ago, taking into account their level of socio-educational advantage,” he said.

“Let’s find out what those schools are doing and think about how good practice can be replicated.

Sunnybank Hills State School was highlighted as one of the schools with a high level of student progress, along with schools such as Somerville House, St Anthony’s School Kedron, Ipswich Grammar School, Fraser Coast Anglican School and Caboolture Montessori School.

St Francis College in Crestmead at Logan was also named as one of the top improving schools in the state, with principal John Marinucci telling The Courier-Mail it was “a joy” to be involved with the school.

“These NAPLAN results are a testament to the hard work and curiosity of our students and the passion of our teachers who really want the best for their students,” he said.

The school was recognised for its improvement in Year 3 to 5 numeracy with 68 per cent of the cohort achieving above average progress when compared to students with the same starting score.

Mr Marinucci said the school had implemented teams of teachers to work collaboratively to plan for maths lessons, and held daily numeration or mental warm-ups in all mathematics lessons from Years 3-6.

St Francis College Year 6 students losalina Vaimili, Toalepai Aarambh and Prasad Marimar Hashisho. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“This enables students to complete sets of questions in a short amount of time to assist with their speed and recall,” he said, adding that students were enjoying the challenge.

“With greater recall and automaticity of maths and number facts, students are then able to apply these skills to new concepts and have a strong number sense that is the foundation to all maths topics.”

Somerville House principal Kim Kiepe said she was pleased with the NAPLAN outcomes for 2021.

The school’s Year 3 to 5 results significantly strengthened, with 65 per cent of the cohort recording above-average progress.

“These results are a testimony to our students who have maintained engagement and standards, despite the challenges of online learning throughout the pandemic,” she said.

“Our teaching team are dedicated to embedding literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum, adopting explicit teaching strategies and targeted feedback; resulting in ongoing growth.

“This enables our students to apply these skills successfully across a broad range of contexts, including NAPLAN.”