Gold Coast schools jump bands of improvement in NAPLAN tests

JUST four schools on the Gold Coast have managed to increase their long-term scores “significantly” for NAPLAN tests across the past three years.

Year 6 students who performed very well in Naplan at St Kevins last year, propelling the school to the top of the My Schools 2018 list. Picture Mike Batterham

GOLD Coast school St Kevin’s has spilt its secrets on how its children have come out on top in long-term NAPLAN scoring.

Just four local schools recorded “significant gains” — where students were “demonstrating substantially above average gain(s) in reading or numeracy achievement” — across the past three years.

St Kevin’s in Benowa, St Augustine’s Parish Primary in Currumbin Waters, Palm Beach State School and Coolangatta State School were commended for increasing their scores substantially, according to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.

Yep, studying sure pays off. Picture Mike Batterham

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The results for My School 2018 were measured from 2015 to 2017, across Years 3 to 5 and Years 7 to 9. Results were released this morning.

St Kevin’s principal Peter Anderson said it was thanks to the teachers’ hard work and a big shift in mindset after jumping from band 4 to 7 in reading and 4 to 6 in numeracy.

“It really is amazing,” he said. “It makes all the sweat, hard work and shoving and coaching worthwhile, we just need to continue to work harder. I’m proud of my children and teachers.”

Mr Anderson said one of the biggest changes they made was a shift from a teacher-dominated space to a more collaborative approach.

These Year 6 kids helped propel the school to the top in reading across 2015 to 2017. Picture Mike Batterham

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“Teachers held the power ... ‘I’ll tell you what we learn and how,’” he said. “(Now) it’s more about collaboration with the learner and looking at the child individually.

“It’s been a massive shift. It’s been really tough for the teachers, they really stepped up to the challenge and we have tried to support them with research.”

Year 6 students who performed very well in Naplan at St Kevins last year, propelling the school to the top of the My Schools 2018 list. L- R: Clarrie Jones, Lucy Young, Jayce Windle, Ashton Wardrop, Jessica McAlpine, Bryce Knott and Teacher Mrs Kerrianne Pearce. Picture Mike Batterham

The principal said they had also set their expectations higher of the students. He said they would next focus on writing.

Other schools also posted impressive results for their Years 3 to 5 cohort, including The Southport School and Labrador State School.

While Assisi Catholic College and Livingstone Christian College improved, their scores remained under the average for schools with similar students.