Schools Hub NAPLAN data reveals rural schools our biggest improvers

Five years of NAPLAN results have revealed students in regional and rural NSW are improving in their literacy and numeracy. See if your school ranks among our most improved.

James Cook Boys Technology High School principal Mark Marciniak with year 11 co-captains Tony Winspear, 16, (left) and Mahbirul Haq, 16. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Public schools in regional and rural parts of the state have done shockingly well when it comes to their performance in NAPLAN scores, in a massive vindication of a suite of policies designed to lift school performance introduced over the past few years by Education Department bureaucrats.

An analysis of five years of NAPLAN data reveals that of the top 100 most improved primary schools across NSW, 80 of them are public schools and the majority of those are in tiny townships and agricultural centres.

The analysis compared the five year change in NAPLAN results from 2017 and 2021 and revealed the schools which have improved their Year 5 and Year 9 student scores the most.

Each school’s combined scores for each NAPLAN subject in 2017 was compared to results in 2021.

Leeville Public School near Casino in Northern NSW was the most improved primary school in the state after teachers managed to lift students’ results by 23 per cent in just five years.

Duranbah Public School, which is also in the state’s north, was the next best school after it lifted NAPLAN scores by just over 20 per cent over five years, closely followed by Dareton Public which saw scores increase by more than 20 per cent.

Schools which improved by more than 15 per cent include Fern Bay Public near Newcastle, Gundagai South Public and Mathoura Public on the Murray River in the state’s south.

Things are also looking good for Sydney schools including Telopea Public in the city’s west while in the southwest, Sherwood Hills Christian School in Bradbury also saw its results improve by more than 15 per cent.

Year 3 and 5 students at Sherwood Hills Christian School in Bradbury: Seira Egan (year 5), Katelyn Kruse (yr 3), Elise van Dijk (yr 3) and Eleazar De Leon (yr 5). Picture: Richard Dobson

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell declared the massive gains seen across some public schools was thanks to the hard work of teachers who had been resilient in the face of school disruptions.

“The great improvements in NAPLAN results at some of our public schools are a real testament to the hard work and dedication of our teachers and school leaders who, despite the disruption of the pandemic and natural disasters, have made sure our students not just continue to learn, but thrive,” she said.

She also said a raft of back-end reforms made over the past few years appeared to be delivering for students.

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

“It’s great to see some of our Government’s key reforms, including the explicit teaching of literacy in the curriculum, a focus on phonics, and support through the School Success Model, is proving successful in these schools,” she said.

President of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association Robyn Evans said Department of Education software used to track a student’s progress had improved and teachers were all on the same page when it came to knowing what mattered most when it came to fixing the basics.

“Things have become less clunky, they’ve become more streamlined, they’ve become more adaptive and user friendly so the teachers can just seamlessly do assessment and reporting,” she said.

“I think we’ve sharpened and narrowed our focus on teaching and learning.”

Another key reason she said for the uplift was thanks to the millions in Covid catch-up, catch up cash given to schools to provide tutoring to children who needed it most was making a big difference.

“We’ve been able to provide targeted support for students that we haven’t always been able to do that … that’s really made a difference. That’s refined and personalised learning with short, sharp staff interventions.”

President of NSW Primary Principals Association Robyn Evans. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Regional high schools were also the most improved, with schools including Nimbin Central School and Bourke High showing big gains over the past five years.

In Sydney, Kogarah’s James Cook High has seen results improve by more than five per cent over the past five years.

Principal Mark Marciniak said his focus was making sure the students felt a strong sense of connection to the school while every single year began with teachers looking at areas where they were doing well and how they could do better.

“We want to develop a strong sense of belonging to the school for all the students … ensuring that the students felt they were respected and they have someone they could turn to,” he said.

“There is a lot of statistical evidence to show that there’s a strong link between having a place where you like to attend, where you feel supported, where you’re encouraged and being inspired to achieve your best.”

“We start the year off looking at our successes and where we need to still continue to make improvements in different areas, either in literacy or numeracy, student attendance or student wellbeing … and then develop a strategic direction in terms of how we’re going to move forward.”

James Cook Boys’ Technology High School principal Mark Marciniak with year 11 co-captains Tony Winspear, 16, (left) and Mahbirul Haq, 16. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Year 11 captain Tony Winspear said he liked the school because the teachers gave him work to do “where I have opportunities to be challenged”.

His co-captain said he had been accelerated in the maths course which was good because “enhances my critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

At North Parramatta’s Redeemer Baptist headmaster Russell Bailey said his school catered for a range of students and teacher aides offered over the shoulder support while students were encouraged to do extra-curricular activities including the Australian Mathematics Competition.

“NAPLAN is great for what it’s designed for – giving teachers a means for reflecting on their teaching, a means for assessing students’ needs, and ability when they transfer from one school to another,” he said.