NAPLAN fail in South Australia spurs call for earlier screening

Poor NAPLAN results in SA have added weight to calls for a nationwide screening program for Year 1 ­students.

One of the worst-performing states in this year’s NAPLAN test has been the only state to historically eschew screening for phonics skills in early learners, adding weight to calls for a nationwide screening program for Year 1 ­students.

South Australia, which lagged the nation in literacy categories in the test, also had fewer students reach the top two levels in reading, writing and spelling across all age groups.

A government-initiated report on the proposed National Year 1 Literacy and Numeracy Check, ­released in April, compared early years literacy assessments across states and territories and found out of 15 possible phonics ­components, SA’s public school system checked for none of them.

It was also the only state found to lack an on-entry assessment for students in Reception (the first year of formal), instead opting for a reading comprehension assessment in Years 1 and 2.

The state has since announced a trial of a tool to assess a child’s phonics skills — their ability to identify the sounds that form words — that started in August.

In the NAPLAN final report ­released yesterday, SA scored below the national average in each of the 20 categories — both in ­average scores and in the number of students meeting the national minimum standards. It also had the lowest gain in reading and the worst decline in writing.

In Year 3 writing, the state’s ­average score was 5 per cent below the national average, with 30 per cent of students in Band 5 and 6 (the top two achievement levels) compared to 44.6 per cent nationwide. Its Year 3 reading and Year 5 writing score was 3 per cent below the national average, trailing every state except the Northern ­Territory. Similar trends occurred in spelling.

Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said ­yesterday it was clear SA failed to keep pace in academic performance.

“These NAPLAN results show that there is cause for concern that after 16 years of the same ­government here in SA we’re not getting the type of lift in school and ­education performance you would hope to see,” Senator Birmingham said. “I welcome the fact that the state government is at least ­trialling phonics checks and early intervention identifications.” South Australian Education ­Minister Susan Close conceded more work was needed to boost achievement in several areas of the curriculum. She pointed to a previously announced $67.5 ­million funding boost — called the Literacy and Numeracy First plan — to public school students, who have been identified as needing more help. She also said she was supportive of “evidence-based” phonics testing of students.

Centre for Independent ­Studies senior researcher Jennifer Buckingham, who chaired the ­expert panel, said SA’s NAPLAN performance had been consistently low compared to other states but the minister, to her credit, ­recognised it was a problem.

Dr Buckingham pointed to Northern Territory, which was found to cover 8 of 15 possible phonics components in its early years’ literacy checks.

“This has coincided with a rise in Year 3 ­literacy scores in the territory,” she said.