My thoughts on NAPLAN…

My thoughts on NAPLAN…

NAPLAN is something that I am asked about a great deal. And my opinion on the test may be somewhat controversial…

Interestingly, while I was on maternity leave with baby #1, 12 years ago, I wrote items for NAPLAN- so I would like to share the insights that process provided.

The items that we wrote were REALLY closely analysed for their quality.

They were written by experienced test item developers and people like me who had lots of classroom experience and post graduate qualifications in Maths Education (Masters, PhD etc)

Every item was interrogated more than I ever imagined. Every word was looked at, the contexts for the questions, the content they addressed, the reading load, the images that were used. Everything was meticulously trialled and reviewed. I was really impressed (and daunted) by this process. Knowing how many items were discarded, it was super exciting to see some of my items actually make it through and appear on a NAPLAN paper! 

I guess I just wanted to share that these tests are really well constructed. They are written by experts, trialled, psychometrically analysed and they are solid in terms of validity and reliability. 

Now I know there are many EAL/D students and others for whom NAPLAN may seem to be a waste of time, but for the majority of students I think the test provides a valuable experience and exercise.

Knowing how robustly these tests are constructed, I feel really confident in backing them. I think they provide an excellent snapshot of where our students are at an individual, school, state and National level. They provide really important data for both parents, teachers and particularly governments and policy makers.

One big issue (and it’s not actually a problem with the test) was how the data collected was used to publicly compare schools.  I was very happy to hear that MySchool will no longer publish results comparing schools. This is really a step in the right direction.

I also think the results take way too long to get back to schools, preventing us from using the data formatively, hopefully we can remedy this in the near future with the implantation of a robust online testing platform.

I also get very upset when I hear about schools and teachers taking time out of their Numeracy program to ‘teach to the test’. I am not against teachers using examples of NAPLAN questions to prepare students for the test. After all, they are really well constructed and allow the exploration of many misconceptions. Students need to be shown the mechanics of the test, because tests are their own genre. However, this should not overtake our maths sessions for weeks beforehand! 

I would actually love NAPLAN to be given on a random day. Then no one would know exactly when it was coming. I know logistically this is not possible, but I think it would really decrease the angst, anxiety and unnecessary build up surrounding the test.

What do you think of my NAPLAN “pop quiz” idea 🤣?