NAPLAN’s big improvers include 10 regional Victoria schools

As all schools’ 2019 NAPLAN results are revealed online today, these 10 regional schools have performed well above expectations.

All schools’ NAPLAN results are released today on the new My School website.

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EVERY school’s 2019 NAPLAN results are being revealed online today, shared on an updated version of the government’s My School website.

This year, however, NAPLAN statistics focus on students’ progress over time, rather than whole-school results.

Mortlake P-12 College in southwest Victoria is a regional standout in student improvements, with nearly 67 per cent of Year 7s achieving high growth in numeracy, compared to the national expectation of 25 per cent, and 82 per cent achieving in the top three bands, compared to the state median of 54 per cent.

Principal Danny Forrest said the exceptional progress was a testament to their teachers, who focused on “making maths real”.

“It is not just text books, it is about experiences,” Mr Forrest said, “providing different opportunities to engage them in maths, English, the works. That is across the school.”

Mr Forrest said the fact the school was a P-12 was a benefit because Year 7s did not have to go through a stressful transition from primary school.

Recent investment of nearly $80,000 to equip all students from Grade 3-12 with laptops had also supported student outcomes, he said.

REGIONAL VICTORIA’S BIG IMPROVERS

These regional schools performed well above expectation on student progress between NAPLAN 2017 and 2019 in two of the three domains of writing, reading and numeracy.

Bairnsdale Primary School

Beaufort Primary School

Cobden Primary School

Cobram Primary School

Moolap Primary School

Nichols Point Primary School

Swan Reach Primary School

The Patch Primary School

Birchip P-12

Mortlake P-12

Mortlake P-12 College Year 7 students have gained numercay skills through applied learning, such as working on a small business enterprise each year.

Birchip P-12 also had strong improvements, with 82 per cent of Year 7 students achieving high growth in numeracy and 45 per cent high growth in reading.

Acting principal Andrew Sayle said the school prioritised professional development and individualised support programs for students.

“As in any school, we do identify students who are in need of more support,” Mr Sayle said. “We’ve found that to be very successful.”

He said that also allowed staff to extend students who needed it.

Updates to the My School website have been made to “help parents and school authorities focus more on how a school is performing in terms of student progress … and less on ‘school versus school’ comparisons that only take account of overall levels of achievement”, said ACARA chief executive David de Carvalho.

A Victoria Department of Education spokesman said the new My School reporting model provided a greater focus on student progress rather than school comparisons.

“Today’s NAPLAN data confirms that the Victorian Government’s Education State reforms are producing real results,” the spokesman said.

Victoria performed well compared to other states in Years 3, 5 and 7 in numberacy, Years 5 and 7 in writing and Year 3 in spelling.

“While these results are encouraging, we know there is more we need to do to lift Year 9 performance. That’s why we are introducing certificates to be awarded to Year 9 students who excel in NAPLAN or significantly improve their results, to recognise excellence, learning growth and keep students engaged,” the spokesman said.

More analysis of the 2019 NAPLAN data will be published as it is released today.

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