Education ministers orderinvestigation into NAPLAN coaching

EDUCATION ministers have ordered an investigation into "excessive test preparation" by schools trying to boost NAPLAN scores.

EDUCATION ministers have ordered an investigation into "excessive test preparation" by schools trying to boost their NAPLAN test scores.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has also been told to check whether principals are encouraging low-performing students to withdraw from the national literacy and numeracy exams, in case they drag down the school's results.

ACARA will ask state and territory education departments to hand over data on practice tests and NAPLAN exemptions and withdrawals this year.

Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett yesterday rebuked schools for coaching students in NAPLAN tests a year ahead of time. "It is not beneficial for schools to use the tests to prepare students for NAPLAN when they will not be sitting the test that year," his spokeswoman said.

South Australia's Education Department yesterday revealed that students in Years 2, 4 and 6 are made to sit "NAPLAN-style" tests at the same time that Year 3, 5 and 7 students sit the real exam.

Mr Garrett urged concerned parents to contact their principal or education department. "Students sitting NAPLAN should not be placed under unnecessary pressure," he said. "This includes making students sit numerous practice tests, which is just counter-productive."

ACARA's general manager of assessment and reporting, Peter Adams, said schools should not give students more than one "familiarisation test" before the real exams. "It results in test fatigue," he said. "Familiarisation should be achieved by just doing one test. Good-quality teaching should be enough to equip kids with the skills."

NAPLAN tests are given to one million children in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 every year to measure their basic literacy and numeracy skills. But SA schools are giving practice tests to children in Years 2, 4 and 6 as well - a policy Mr Adams said ACARA "would not encourage or endorse".

The SA policy emerged yesterday after an Adelaide father alleged his 11-year-old daughter had been suspended from a state primary school after refusing to complete a photocopied practice test given to Year 6 students during the NAPLAN exams last month.

An SA Education official wrote to the father that "all year 2/4/6 students work with teachers during the NAPLAN tests on 'NAPLAN-like' questions taken from a variety of past test papers as well as other curriculum resources".

"This does not breach any of the policy guidelines in regards to NAPLAN testing."

An SA Education Department spokesman said it was "common in most schools" to use old NAPLAN tests as "teaching resources and to give students across all years experience in the NAPLAN testing format".