NAPLAN results 2019: Gold Coast principals share secrets of success
Principals at Gold Coast schools which were among the top ranked in NAPLAN results have revealed how they did it.
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Principals at some of the Gold Coast schools which ranked among the highest in yesterday’s NAPLAN results say a panic and pressure-free attitude to testing yielded results.
Six Gold Coast private schools featured among the top 50 in Queensland following this year’s tests.
A B Paterson College, Somerset College and Emmanuel College made the state’s top echelon for both primary and high school.
The Southport School (primary), All Saints Anglican and St Hilda’s School (both high school) also made the cut.
All Saints Anglican School principal Patrick Wallas said when it came to NAPLAN, less was more.
“It is the efficacy of this teaching and learning after all that NAPLAN is designed to assess,” he said.
“We therefore do very little in terms of preparation for NAPLAN, preferring to trust our effective delivery of the Australian curriculum on a daily basis.
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“The plus side of this is that our students (and their parents) tend to be very relaxed about the tests and we have exceptionally high participation rates. Similarly, other than the obvious ‘well done’ to the classes involved at the end of the testing period, we don’t go in for celebrations.”
Acting principal Dr Michael Brohier said it was a similar approach at Somerset College.
“Our philosophy has always been to get our students to understand and ... think deeply about subject areas,” he said.
“We don’t have a massive focus on NAPLAN. We don’t rehearse them, we always try not to get them so hyper and upset, but rather teach them around areas they need and build that into their subject areas enjoy education.
“I think discerning parents look at NAPLAN as one of the factors but not the only thing focus on.”
The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority yesterday released the results from May’s tests, which involved students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is designed to measure students in literacy and numeracy and track progress, but this year Queensland recorded lower results than the national average in every year level and subject.
The results revealed lower scores in 12 categories out of 20 compared to 2018, with year nine reading and writing scores close to the worst in the country.
Brisbane schools dominated the primary division, headed by St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School.
A B Paterson College placed 11th in Queensland, ahead of The Southport School (20th) and Emmanuel College at Carrara (34th).
Brisbane schools also scored best in the secondary school section. Brisbane Girl’s Grammar was No.1.
Somerset College placed sixth, followed by A B Paterson College (18th) and All Saints Anglican School (21st).
In the state-wide public sector, Broadbeach State School ranked the highest among Coast primary schools, placing 89th, and Varsity College (70th) the secondary schools.
The Gold Coast’s top most improved Year 5 cohorts were from Cedar Creek State School (up 25.3 points), Burleigh Heads State School (up 24.1 points) and Somerset College (up 22.7 points).
The most improved Year 9 cohorts were Upper Coomera (up 18 points), Coombabah State High School (up 14.4 points) and Silkwood (up 9 points).
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