A West Australian school has been caught cheating at NAPLAN, with teachers handing out a cheat sheet on the day when students were meant to have only a bit of blank paper for working out.
The 2024 results were released late on Tuesday night, with a group of 19 year 3 students’ results withheld due to “inappropriate assistance being made available” during the test – the only substantiated report of cheating made across the country.
A spokesman for the School Curriculum and Standards Authority said it involved a planning sheet, which helps students prepare before NAPLAN testing, being handed out on the day of the test.
“The school has been counselled and is undertaking measures to improve procedures for future years. The compromised data has been withheld,” he said.
It was overall a rather dismal showing for WA’s year 3s.
Almost half of year 3s were not proficient in grammar or punctuation, and in reading, more recorded results in the lowest band – “needs additional support” – than any other mainland state.
In total, 47.6 per cent of students fell into the lowest two bands, and the results weren’t much better in spelling, with 40 per cent falling into the lower categories.
By year 9 the opposite results were recorded, however, with WA having the highest number of students of all states and territories falling into the top two bands across all subject areas except writing; even above the ACT, known for its high scores.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive Stephen Gniel said the results showed strong performances from students in literacy and numeracy across the board.
“However, they also provide clear information on areas requiring our collective focus,” he said.
“The challenges remain with supporting those students identified in the ‘needs additional support’ category, and tackling the ongoing educational disparities for students from non-urban areas, [with] First Nations Australian heritage and those with low socio-educational backgrounds.”
In WA, 33.15 per cent of all students were in the “needs additional support” or “developing” categories, compared to 32.8 per cent nationally.
Girls outperformed boys in reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation in all grades, while boys outperformed girls in numeracy in all grades.
Children from families whose parents completed a bachelor’s degree also scored much higher than those whose parents finished their formal education in year 11 – more than 75 per cent did not meet proficiency standards in the latter group.
But the national curriculum body warned not to read too much into the data just yet, given it is only the second year since changes to the way NAPLAN is scored.
Gniel said it would only be into next year and the year after that real trends emerged.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.