Around 400,000 students across more than 3,100 NSW schools have begun NAPLAN tests from today.
This is the first year that NAPLAN will be held in Term 1 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students. It means that parents, teachers and ultimately our students, will soon benefit from earlier results from NAPLAN tests.
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said these changes mean we will have a better picture of how a student is tracking earlier and can make sure that any extra support they need to catch up is provided sooner.
“The NSW-led review of NAPLAN in 2019 identified a number of improvements, that my state and federal counterparts have agreed to implement,” Ms Mitchell said.
“A big thank you to the teachers, NAPLAN coordinators and school principals for their efforts preparing for NAPLAN this year amidst the changes.
“Importantly, with NAPLAN being conducted earlier in the school year, results will be available earlier to teachers, schools, and the school sectors. Earlier access to data will be more useful to inform school and system teaching and learning programs.”
Recently, Education Ministers also agreed to streamlining reporting, so that NAPLAN results are easier for teachers, parents and carers to review.
From this year, each student’s NAPLAN report will show how they’re tracking against four categories: ‘Exceeding’, ‘Strong’, ‘Developing’, and ‘Needs additional support’. “These four simple categories of achievement mean parents and carers will know at a glance where their child is at on this test,” Ms Mitchell said.
“NSW remains committed to delivering the intent of the NAPLAN review, which is to ensure NAPLAN remains a rigorous and modern national test that is timely for teachers and helpful for parents.”
NAPLAN determines whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning.
“NAPLAN is one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting program and should be kept in perspective,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The assessment is designed to complement ongoing assessments so that teachers can best support teaching and learning.”
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