Senate committee to mark NAPLAN

LABOR is confident Australia's NAPLAN testing will get a gold star after a forthcoming Senate inquiry into the program.

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LABOR is confident Australia's NAPLAN testing will get a gold star after a forthcoming Senate inquiry into the program, despite evidence of cheating on exams, students suffering from anxiety and even some told to sit tests out.

A motion for the inquiry was given unanimous support in the Senate on Wednesday, and will examine the unintended consequences NAPLAN testing is having on students, teachers and the school curriculum.

Greens' spokeswoman for schools Penny Wright said there was anecdotal evidence that teachers were avoiding large parts of the school syllabus in order to focus on numeracy and literacy skills.

She said a study from Melbourne University showed a large number of teachers were including weekly practice NAPLAN testing. And while there is only anecdotal evidence at the moment, Senator Wright said she had been overwhelmed with support from teachers and parents who had complaints about the program.

"NAPLAN was intended to provide important information on student performance and highlight students most in need of help," she said.

"After six years, it is time to re-evaluate the test to make sure it's doing what it's supposed to and putting kids' learning first."

A spokeswoman for Education Minister Peter Garrett said the government was happy to show its cards over the testing system.

"We did not oppose the Senate motion to look at NAPLAN because we welcome the opportunity for the committee to see the benefits that NAPLAN has provided to schools including using the data to improve their literacy and numeracy outcomes," she said.

"They will also be able to see how the MySchool website has provided transparency to parents and the community on how our schools are progressing."

A spokesman for opposition education spokeman Christopher Pyne said the Coalition supported the inquiry mostly because of problems associated with publication of NAPLAN data on the MySchool website.

He said teachers and parents were going to great lengths to ensure good test results, with accusations of teachers changing results and cheating and even telling some children to stay home on test days.

Vitamin company Nature's Way recently sparked outrage when its television advertisements for Kids Smart Omega-3 Fish Oil tablets finished with the line "NAPLAN testing starts May 14".