Education experts say current NAPLAN test is flawed, a much better model is needed

Education experts have slammed the NAPLAN, calling for an overhaul of ‘old-fashioned metric’ to avoid harmful side-effects of the school-based test.

Education experts have called for NAPLAN to be overhauled to “avoid the harmful side effects” of the current test.

A Media Centre for Education Research Australia online seminar on Monday heard numerous concerns about the assessment, which students around the country will sit online from May 10 to May 20.

Professor Pasi Sahlberg from Southern Cross University believes the national testing tool should move away from testing all students to assessing a sample from years four, six, eight and ten.

He said Australia should “design a much better model” instead of relying on an “old-fashioned metric”.

Experts have called for an overhaul of the NAPLAN test. Picture Julianne Osborne

Professor Jim Tognolini from the University of Sydney said people were using the NAPLAN test in ways it wasn’t designed “causing significant unintended consequences that can have a negative impact on teaching and learning”.

“It was never designed for schools to market their performance” or “set targets for schools and hold schools accountable,” Professor Tognolini said.

“People now see NAPLAN as a high stakes test … but it’s become one because of the misuse of it,” he said.

He said schools should not subvert the curriculum to teach the test, which “puts significant pressure on schools and students to perform”.

Dr Lucinda McKnight from Deakin University said research had shown the NAPLAN writing tests was harmful and needed to be withdrawn.

“Why are we still doing this test when we know it causes such difficulties?” she said.

“We can’t treat NAPLAN data as if it is valid when we have many reasons to think it is not valid,” she said.

NAPLAN test results shouldn’t be used to evaluate the quality of a school.

“It does not test students’ writing, it tests students’ NAPLAN writing,” Dr McKnight said.

Dr Sahlberg also said NAPLAN should not be used to evaluate the quality of schools because the test because the results reflect a students’ natural intelligence, out of school learning as well as what’s taught at school.

He said research showed that schools only account 15 to 25 per cent of the validity of student standardised tests, with the rest coming from family income and parents’ education.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has told parents that: “the best way you can help your child prepare for NAPLAN is to reassure them that NAPLAN tests are just one part of their school program, and to advise them to simply do the best they can on the day”.

More information on the upcoming test can be found at nap.edu.au