NAPLAN

[*elizabeths-mum*]

Why do parents cram their children to do well in it? My daughter tutors and that has been high on the demand list recently and I noticed the newsagency is full of books to prepare. Isn't it just a test to see where the gaps are so they can be remedied?

[azureline**]

Yes, they have no idea the damage they are doing to their children and the whole purpose of the testing.

[*crikey*mate*]

It's not even a test to see where gaps exist so that they can be remedied (at least not for the student).

It is a tool for bureaucracy to form simplistic leagues tables in order to rank how a school is apparently performing. Unfortunately, politicians and the general public believe that curriculum documents determine the quality of education. In analysing these performances, some sociological factors such as, agency, accessibility, culture, ethnicity, cultural capital and habitus have been devalued. These all have a huge but underappreciated effect on the outcomes of education, which only serves to compound and perpetuate this problem.

They are a snapshot in time on 2 to 3 days of a child's school life - they in no way measure a child's (or a school's) entire educational journey.

[azureline**]

well, that is how the media uses it, not the Education dept.

[catsnknots]

The NAPLAN does test to find the gaps... I know of a school that got extra funding and help to fix the problems they had in English... they have a larger number of non English speaking families in their catchment area and the test showed they needed extra assistance. 

We should not put our kids under pressure.. it should be just another day. And schools should be thankful for the gaps to be found out... it will give them more money to assist where they are lacking. 

[katydidthat]

My son's NAPLAN results came in handy.  We moved from QLD to NSW where the kids of his age were in year 9, but he was in year 10 in QLD ... based on his NAPLAN results, he's in year 11 now here and a year younger than his peers.  

The problem I have with most exams is that they don't really assess the student's abilities.  I find sitting exams easy.  I usually do extremely well ... but that doesn't measure much beyond my ability to pass exams.  I have an excellent short term memory and an ability to regurgitate what I have learned.  Will I remember anything after exam day?  Can I apply it to practical situations?  Maybe, but an exam doesn't show that.  

[krazy.kiwi]

I don't care how my kids go in their NAPLAN tests.

The only real benefit to them is experience in exams, the older one hasn't done many and needs all the experience he can get.

[monstersinthedungeon]

When my step-daughter did her first NAPLAN the grades doing the tests crammed for weeks leading up to the tests.

My SD was not doing very well in a few subjects, so they wanted to give her special considerations for the tests. I tried very hard to refuse, because I wanted to genuinely know where she was at, so we could get her the assistance she needed in the areas she needed (she had only been living with us for a matter of weeks, so I had no true idea of her previous level of schooling).

The school would not listen to me and had someone sit with her throughout the tests, so we never got a true indication from them, as she was helped every step of the way. Rather pointless, in my estimation.

[2106greencat]

Do schools still do what was once called (many moons ago) internal assessments ?

They were based on your work and comprehension of various subjects throughout the year. You still sat exams but the marks you gained throughout the year were added to results so there was more of an all round indication of your learning ability.

I know a child who is incredibly intelligent, top 3% in QLD on  NAPLAN, yet he struggles with an exam situation because he feels nervous and pressured.

[azureline**]

The National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests were first implemented in 2008.

These national tests replaced previous state and territory tests.

They provide information on how Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are performing in numeracy, reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar.