Gillard was concerned schools prepared for NAPLAN tests

JULIA Gillard raised concerns about schools "teaching to the test" to get ahead in literacy and numeracy exams when she was education minister.

JULIA Gillard raised concerns about schools "teaching to the test" to get ahead in national literacy and numeracy exams when she was education minister in 2009, recommending time limits be put on student preparation.

As schools across the country get ready to sit the 2011 NAPLAN tests next month, ministerial briefings obtained by The Australian show Ms Gillard asked the federal Education Department to "consider limits on practice time".

The departmental advice to Ms Gillard estimates schools spend 10 hours preparing for the tests -- one hour a day for 10 days prior, which equates to 1.5 per cent of total teaching time -- and says the department will request "a set of uniform national guidelines" for schools to follow in the future.

"(The department) has asked the NAPLAN steering group to consider the issue of limiting the amount of time spent practising tests," the briefing says.

"The NAPLAN test protocols already suggest specific time limits for practice. However, at this stage, states and territories are uncomfortable with setting rigid limits as students vary in the amount of practice they require.

The position on setting limits for practice will be reviewed as test policy documents are developed."

These briefings, obtained under freedom of information rules, come as the NAPLAN tests are increasingly marred by allegations that schools are trying to get the best results by omitting struggling students and "teaching to the test".

The department also advised Ms Gillard in August 2009 that state and territory departments recommended schools spent some time preparing students for NAPLAN, including practising under test conditions and what type of questions they would encounter.

"In the first round of national testing in 2008, there had been no expectation that systems/schools would carry out excessive or inappropriate test preparation," the briefing says.

"The events leading up to the 2009 tests suggest the National Test Administration Protocols should now address this."

Ms Gillard also requested the department investigate whether reward payments for schools that improved their literacy and numeracy performance could affect how schools prepared for the NAPLAN tests.

The department found the design of NAPLAN would limit schools from appropriately influencing results (known as "gaming") to try to get more funding, because it was distributed at a state rather than school level.

The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority has responsibility for running the NAPLAN tests. Its latest protocols state that teachers should not spend "excessive" time on preparation.

But the 2011 protocols do not state specific time limits, nor recommend how many hours should be spent in preparation.

"Past NAPLAN test papers can be used to ensure that students are familiar with the format and response types, but excessive practice is not recommended," the protocols say.

"The best preparation schools can provide for students is teaching the curriculum, as the tests reflect core elements of the curricula of all states and territories."

More than 5 million tests will be sat by more than 1 million students nationally on May 10, 11 and 12.