Far North schools with the lowest and highest NAPLAN improvement

An exclusive analysis has revealed the Far North schools with the highest and lowest NAPLAN improvement over the past five years. How did your school do?

An exclusive analysis has revealed the Far North schools with the highest and lowest NAPLAN improvement over the past five years.

A News Corp analysis compared the five-year change in NAPLAN results from 2017 and 2021 and revealed the schools which have improved their Year 5 and Year 9 student scores the most.

And the schools that have improved the most have done so through harnessing diverse and technologically-driven programs, upskilling and bettering teachers, and changing school attitudes to learning.

It comes as News Corp analysis on Tuesday showed the top performing Far North schools on a five-year average.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School in Thursday Island recorded the biggest improvement for a primary school, while Kowanyama State School recorded the biggest improvement for a secondary school.

Thursday Island's Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School year one students Dutch Stevens and Ah'Mani Gagai reading. Picture: Supplied

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School principal Majella Lynch-Harlow said they’d changed the schools attitude completely by hiring quality and experienced teachers and reducing turnover, technology-based programs, and building the same quality of education as other Cairns and Queensland schools.

Kowanyama State School principal Finn Buckley said the school maintained a focus on reading and comprehension, including lessons with strong ties to local culture, local language lessons, maximising the capabilities of teachers and teaching assistants, and cultural induction in the classroom.

Other schools with a high rate of improvement include Mossman’s St Augustine’s School, whose principal Kym Bennett said they’d put emphasis on greater school attendance, which research had linked back to greater achievement.

Mossman's St Augustine's School students Zara Whyte and Nyah Borko at the campus. Picture: Supplied

Bentley Park College principal Bruce Houghton said their improvement came from the curriculum moderation model they developed, creating a “laser-like” focus on what’s to be taught and how to meet students’ needs.

He said the college was being acknowledged statewide, with 30 schools visiting their campus in the past two years to gain an insight into the programs.

Meanwhile, the schools that recorded the lowest improvement for a primary school was Yarrabah State School, after returning a result of -17.73 per cent and for a secondary school, Cloncurry State School P-12 returned a result of -9.44 per cent.

Use the interactive tool below to search school improvements statewide.

Top 5 Far North primary school NAPLAN improvers over five years

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School: 18.19 per cent

St John’s School: 12.09 per cent

Endeavour Christian College: 9.82 per cent

Ravenshoe State School: 7.64 per cent

St Augustine’s School: 6.73 per cent

Top 5 Far North secondary school NAPLAN improvers over five years

Kowanyama State School: 6.56 per cent

Mount St Bernard College: 6.09 per cent

Bentley Park College: 4.96 per cent

Herberton State School: 4.75 per cent

Cairns School of Distance Education: 4.69 per cent

Note: The News Corp analysis was calculated by each school’s combined results for each NAPLAN subject in 2017 and compared to the same results in 2021.

Originally published as Far North schools with the lowest and highest NAPLAN improvement