15 May 2018
NAPLAN starts for over a million students around Australia
The annual NAPLAN assessments have commenced for over a million students across Australia. For the first time, some students are taking NAPLAN in its new online format – nearly 20 per cent of students across six states and territories.
NAPLAN is the only national assessment all Australian children undertake (four times across seven years of schooling in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). The data gained from NAPLAN have proven value; these are the only national set of education data available in Australia, which inform decisions about improving learning for all young students.
For parents, NAPLAN is an important tool to see how their child is doing in the fundamental skills of literacy and numeracy, compared with the rest of Australia’s children. It supports conversations between parents, teachers and schools on working together to help children achieve their full potential.
ACARA CEO, Robert Randall, said the biggest change to NAPLAN, in both the design and delivery of the assessments, and the way in which results are reported, was the move online.
“NAPLAN Online offers benefits for students and teachers, including more precise results and detailed information for teachers, and a more engaging experience for students. Faster turnaround of information and results will better support teaching interventions and inform decisions about learning.
“The transition online is planned to take three years, ensuring that school authorities, schools, teachers and students are all ready to make the move online. Both paper-based and online tests assess students on the same curriculum content, with all results placed on the same NAPLAN assessment scale. This means both modes of testing measure the same literacy and numeracy skills and offer comparable test results."
Schools and students moving online in 2018 undertook readiness and preparedness activities, including a successful practice test. Education authorities have detailed procedures in place to manage any issues that may arise, to ensure students and teachers are supported through NAPLAN in 2018.
Is your school participating in NAPLAN Online? Feel free to let us know about your school’s experience at [email protected]
