Wanniassa School, Macquarie Primary School most improved in Canberra’s NAPLAN results

The biggest NAPLAN improvers for schools in the Australian Capital Territory have been revealed along with the schools which have gone backwards.

Wanniassa School and Macquarie Primary school are the most improved schools in the ACT. Picture: Supplied

The Canberra schools with the biggest improvement in NAPLAN scores have been revealed.

Macquarie Primary School recorded the biggest improvement for a primary school with the average Year 5 NAPLAN results increasing by 9.47 per cent over the past five years of NAPLAN.

Meanwhile, Wanniassa School recorded the biggest improvement for a secondary school with average year 9 NAPLAN results increasing by 5.8 per cent over the past five years of NAPLAN.

Macquarie Primary School Acting Principal Jodie Rowell and Wanniassa School Kate Marshall said NAPLAN provided snapshots of students’ progress and was one of many tools to assess and further learning.

They said their teachers worked hard to support student learning and said no single data set could tell the full story about the work at their schools.

While both principals welcomed the improvement in their NAPLAN scores, they said they don‘t use the scores to measure the success of their classrooms or school communities.

For primary schools St John the Apostle Primary School at Florey was the second best with an increase of 7.27 per cent followed by St Vincent’s Primary School at Aranda with an increase of 6.73 per cent.

Covenant Christian School at Gordon was the second most improved high school with a 4.92 per cent increase followed by Calwell High School at Calwell with an increase of 4.24 per cent.

Wanniassa School is the most improved NAPLAN secondary school in the ACT. Picture: Richard Poulton

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.

It was calculated by each school‘s combined results for each NAPLAN subject in 2017 and compared to the same results in 2021.

Meanwhile, St Michael‘s Primary School in Kaleen recorded the lowest improvement for a primary school with the average Year 5 NAPLAN results returning a result of -5.94 per cent over the past five years of NAPLAN.

While, Kingsford Smith School in Holt recorded the lowest improvement for a secondary school returning a result of -4.59 per cent over the past five years.

Macquarie Primary School is Canberra's most improved NAPLAN school in primary years. Picture: Supplied

“At Macquarie Primary School, we are always looking for ways to improve, and we have a strong focus on student wellbeing, ensuring students are ready to learn,” Ms Rowell said.

“Our school improvement journey has had a narrow, sharp focus on building a community of learners, (focusing) on deepening learning for each individual through the use of explicit teaching and inquiry pedagogy and concept-driven curriculum delivery.

“Working on academic and well-being outcomes simultaneously has resulted in confident, capable learners at our school, and these key priorities help our students reach their potential.”

ACT education Minister Yvette Berry said NAPLAN is only a point in time assessment of students. Picture: Supplied

“At Wanniassa School student learning and achievement is at the core of everything we do,” Ms Marshall said.

“Our dedicated teachers are united in the belief that all students can learn to high levels, and we are committed to building a collaborative and positive learning community.

We have focused on creating a connected school culture where everyone feels connected and creating an inclusive school community following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ACT education Minister Yvette Berry described NAPLAN as a “narrow point in time assessment” of student learning that “only provides information about a few subjects students learn at school”.

“While there is some value in having a nationally consistent measure of student progress, there are things that we can do to improve on NAPLAN as it is currently delivered,” Ms Berry said.

The Minister cautioned against using NAPLAN scores to create competition between schools, saying doing so was “unhelpful and artificially raises the stakes of the test”.

“It is the assessment that teachers do of student learning each and every day that has the greatest impact,” she said.

Australian Capital Territory top primary school NAPLAN improvers over five years

Macquarie Primary School: 9.47 per cent

St John the Apostle Primary School: 7.27 per cent

St Vincent’s Primary School: 6.73 per cent

Richardson Primary School: 6.18 per cent

Ngunnawal Primary School: 5.68 per cent

Australian Capital Territory top secondary school NAPLAN improvers over five years

Wanniassa School: 5.8 per cent

Covenant Christian School: 4.92 per cent

Calwell High School: 4.24 per cent

Brindabella Christian College: 2.46 per cent

Belconnen High School: 2.17 per cen