Teachers tell parents to withdraw children from ‘high stress’ NAPLAN tests

As 1.3m students prepare to sit the annual tests this week, a teachers’ union is urging parents to boycott the national literacy and numeracy tests. Try the practice test for parents at the end of the article.

A boycott of NAPLAN testing this week is being driven by a teacher union that claims students are “too stressed’’ by the literacy and numeracy tests.

As 1.3 million students prepare to sit the tests this week, Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) president Cresta Richardson predicted that many parents would pull their children out of the tests.

“This choice is being made to avoid the high levels of stress and anxiety experienced by students in this high-stakes but low-value testing model,’’ she said.

“Parents and carers are reminded that NAPLAN testing is voluntary, and they can withdraw their children from testing via their school.’’

NAPLAN – the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy – is supposed to test every student in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to assess their knowledge of basic learning in reading, writing, spelling and punctuation, and mathematics.

This month, 1.3 million children in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will sit national test of reading, writing, spelling and punctuation and mathematics, in the NAPLAN test.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is fast-tracking the results this year, so teachers will receive most preliminary results within a month in order to help any children who are struggling.

The test was held in May for 16 years, until the nation’s education ministers agreed last year to change the testing date to March.

However, Islamic schools have complained that the March testing window coincides with the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when teenage students are required to fast from dawn to dusk.

One in three Australian students failed to meet the baseline standard for literacy and numeracy in last year’s tests, which identified 130,000 students requiring remedial support to catch up with their classmates.

Ms Richardson – whose union represents 48,000 public school teachers – released a video yesterday complaining that NAPLAN was “too stressful’’.

She said parents would get a “deeper and more accurate understanding’’ of their child’s progress through A-E school report cards and parent-teacher interviews.

She called on the federal and state governments to “abolish this outdated test in its current form and give teachers back the time to teach core curriculum areas’’.

Queensland Teachers' Union president Cresta Richardson says NAPLAN tests are too stressful for students.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare refused to back down to the union demands yesterday.

“NAPLAN is important,’’ he said.

“It helps to identify where we need to invest additional funding to help students catch up, keep up and finish school.

“We are also ensuring that teachers get NAPLAN information earlier.

“This will help to intervene early and support students who are falling behind.’’

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says NAPLAN is important because it helps teachers identify students who are struggling with schoolwork. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

NAPLAN, introduced in 2008 with bipartisan support, will test 1.3 million students from 9400 schools.

Queensland has the highest rate of NAPLAN withdrawal, with parents officially withdrawing one in 20 children from sitting the tests.

The withdrawal rate in Queensland last year was 5.3 per cent – far higher than the national average of 3.1 per cent, and the NSW withdrawal rate of 2.1 per cent.

ACARA acting chief executive officer Stephen Gniel said students should not feel stressed about the online tests.

He said schools would receive their results eight weeks earlier this year – a full term earlier than last year, and the earliest in the history of NAPLAN.

“(This) will help support schools in understanding where their students have performed well and areas for improvement, as well (as) shape teaching and learning programs,’’ he said.

“There’s no need for students to undertake extra practice for NAPLAN and they should not feel apprehensive about the assessment.’’

Schools will receive preliminary results within a month, but parents will have to wait until the start of Term 3 to see their children’s results, and national results will be made public in August.

Queensland Education Minister Di Farmer yesterday refused to criticise the teachers’ union for undermining the government-mandated test.

“NAPLAN tests are a point-in-time assessment and only one aspect of school assessment and reporting process,’’ she said.

“The results parents see on their children’s report cards remain the most powerful data available about student performance.’’

Tutoring company Cluey Learning has designed a practice test for parents.