NAPLAN Qld: Parents remain in the dark about school performance

Queensland parents will be kept in the dark as to how well their schools performed in NAPLAN after a key report was scrapped.

Parents will have no clue as to how their child’s school performed comparatively in this year’s NAPLAN testing, after another shock move by the state’s assessment body to block access to crucial school data.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority has traditionally released each school’s NAPLAN results publicly each year, giving current and prospective parents alike an insight into schools’ numeracy and literacy performance and improvement.

But in another blow to parents’ right to know, a decision by the QCAA board means the report has been scrapped – mirroring the scrapping of the annual Year 12 outcomes report. QCAA chief executive Chris Rider said the decision was taken due to concerns about the misuse of NAPLAN data, and that the decision to scrap the NAPLAN outcomes report had been made by the QCAA “unanimously”.

Mr Rider said the decision was informed by the national Education Council’s “principles and protocols for NAPLAN reporting that state reporting should involve balancing the community’s right to know with the need to avoid the misinterpretation or misuse of the information”.

He also said that QCAA would continue to hold all of Queensland’s NAPLAN data, and would issue 2021 results to schools this week.

The Courier-Mail understands the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority would continue to publish each school’s NAPLAN results on My School in about March next year – almost a full 12 months after the tests were conducted.

Opposition education spokesman Christian Rowan slammed the scrapping of the NAPLAN outcomes report, saying openness and transparency in the educational outcomes of Queensland students was critically important.

“Without access to such vital data, strategies to improve literacy and numeracy cannot be adequately delivered to improve our Education system in Queensland,” he said.

“The Palaszczuk State Labor Government is failing to be accountable when it comes to providing Queensland parents, teachers, and students with the required information to strive for excellence and deliver quality improvements for our schools.”

But Education Minister Grace Grace said NAPLAN was a point-in-time check, describing the comprehensive national testing as “one of many assessments students undertake to monitor and track their progress.”

“NAPLAN is only one of the tools used for monitoring students’ progress and assessing their areas of strength and development,” she said.

Ms Grace said schools would be able to access student and school summary results from QCAA, and the decision to only provide statewide reporting aligned with other states.

Meanwhile the Queensland Teachers’ Union, which has long advocated for the scrapping of NAPLAN entirely, also backed the move.

President Cresta Richardson said NAPLAN was past its use-by date.

“Many in the system do not find it helpful or informative to supporting students,” she said.

“The best indicator of student success remains the learning experiences taught in our schools daily, the A-E reporting and regular feedback that students get every day in their classrooms.”

Originally published as NAPLAN Qld: Parents remain in the dark about school performance