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Improvements to NAPLAN agreed to by Education Ministers

Pixaby.jpgSource: Pixabay

On 2 July Education Ministers agreed to make improvements to national standardised testing in Australian schools to better inform teacher practice.

National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) focuses on literacy and numeracy to determine how students are progressing against national standards over time. 
"NAPLAN provides a national evidence base consistent across states and territories, contributing to the monitoring and evaluation of student progress and outcomes. 
"The results of the assessment provide information for parents, teachers and leaders to inform teaching and learning programs. 
"This information complements teacher judgement and the wide range of formal and informal assessments that are used in each school," she said. "Catholic education supports the importance of NAPLAN and its continual refinement."  

Federal Minister for Education and Youth and chair of the Education Ministers Meeting Alan Tudge said that it was a constructive meeting with good progress on key national initiatives. 

“NAPLAN has been an important tool to inform teacher practice and give guidance to parents on how their child is progressing. These incremental reforms will enhance these objectives,” Minister Tudge said in a media release.

“It will also provide more opportunities for schools to 'opt in' to additional assessments in the key subject areas of Science, Civics and Digital Literacy,” he said.

Education Ministers agreed to the following:

  • the writing test would continue to be conducted as a census test
  • the testing of spelling, grammar and punctuation (Conventions of Language) will be separate from writing as part of the annual census-based standardised assessment program
  • ACARA would work with jurisdictions to explore the feasibility of shifting of the test as early as possible in the school year and turn around test results in two weeks
  • the assessments remain in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9
  • in-principle agreement to enabling schools to 'opt-in' to assessments in the domains of Science Literacy (including critical and creative thinking), Digital Literacy and Civics and Citizenship annually in Year 6 and Year 10 
  • ACARA to investigate the feasibility of incorporating critical and creative thinking in English and Mathematics into the existing NAPLAN domains, with advice to be provided to the next Education Ministers’ Meeting.

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