Naplan - how hard is this?

[i-need-a-martini]

I have been trying to help my daughter plan and study for Year 7 Naplan and I give up!

The reading task is so complicated and the maths is impossible for me. The latter I can understand as maths isn't my strong point but reading and comprehension is something I have always been good at.

I can only suggest that my daughter (who has a learning difficulty) do what she can but I suspect most of her pages will be blank!

Anyone elses kids doing Year 7 Naplan at the moment?

[youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit]

yep- I can just imagine. I understand what you mean HSC etc...its daunting, isnt it?

I just spoke with my son, and he reminded me of a friend (girl) vomiting before the test..and he said- if only she knew at the time how little all that sh*t matters..

If your daughter could see it as practice, and only that- it might help...

I took part in the reading program at my sons school when he was in yr 7, and I met with a boy with off the charts dyslexia every week- the naplan was like a type of torture for him..and he was older at least 14yrs old(and bigger) than the others. He kept worrying about the text, that he wouldnt be able to read it..

all I could say to him is- one sentence at a time, underline and isolate any words they ask you about..and have a good nights sleep before the test..I look back, and Im thinking, geez, thats pretty ordinary advice really, isnt it...

martini, good luck to your daughter

[gleee58]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

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@donnashuggy wrote:

My children told me not to take it seriously so I have never placed any credence to their results.

I'm not sure it matters a great deal what their result is.

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But it's the equivelent of the HSC for Year 7.

My daughter is completely in a tizz about not being able to answer the questions. And our school is not an academically inclined school.

So I can only imagine the stress kids in selective schools are facing this week. Or kids who's parents have put pressure on them to do well.

Poor little mites.

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Tell your daughter her result doesn't matter.   

To get stressed about and cram for the test defeats the purpose of the test.  It's not an exam, even though that is what some news outlets are reporting it as.  

[gleee58]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

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@donnashuggy wrote:

My children told me not to take it seriously so I have never placed any credence to their results.

I'm not sure it matters a great deal what their result is.

---

But it's the equivelent of the HSC for Year 7.

My daughter is completely in a tizz about not being able to answer the questions. And our school is not an academically inclined school.

So I can only imagine the stress kids in selective schools are facing this week. Or kids who's parents have put pressure on them to do well.

Poor little mites.

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How is it equivalent to the HSC?  

[gleee58]

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@youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit wrote:

yep- I can just imagine. I understand what you mean HSC etc...its daunting, isnt it?

I just spoke with my son, and he reminded me of a friend (girl) vomiting before the test..and he said- if only she knew at the time how little all that sh*t matters..

If your daughter could see it as practice, and only that- it might help...

I took part in the reading program at my sons school when he was in yr 7, and I met with a boy with off the charts dyslexia every week- the naplan was like a type of torture for him..and he was older at least 14yrs old(and bigger) than the others. He kept worrying about the text, that he wouldnt be able to read it..

all I could say to him is- one sentence at a time, underline and isolate any words they ask you about..and have a good nights sleep before the test..I look back, and Im thinking, geez, thats pretty ordinary advice really, isnt it...

martini, good luck to your daughter

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One of my children could barely read and it showed on the test results, however, she blitzed the oral component and eventually managed to overcome the reading hurdles.  

[chameleon54]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

---

@donnashuggy wrote:

My children told me not to take it seriously so I have never placed any credence to their results.

I'm not sure it matters a great deal what their result is.

---

But it's the equivelent of the HSC for Year 7.

My daughter is completely in a tizz about not being able to answer the questions. And our school is not an academically inclined school.

So I can only imagine the stress kids in selective schools are facing this week. Or kids who's parents have put pressure on them to do well.

Poor little mites.

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Success means different things for different kids. We encourage our kids to put in effort, try hard and do their best, ( for them ) but this does not mean they have to BE THE BEST.  We talk to them about the things they are not so skilled in and tell them that its OK if you cant do everything well.  I am always happy to tell them about the things I,m not so crash hot on and share some of my failures in my teen years with them.

For some kids academia is just not their thing. They may be good at art or cooking or sport or caring for other people.. Encourage them and praise them when they do their best in their area of skill and let them know you understand that Naplan tests may not be their thing.

[chameleon54]

Touche Donna, I spent ages writing above as I was watching Q & A on telly in between typing.

[lyndal1838]

I don't pretend to be familiar with current education trends but to me the questions in the links were not difficult.  The maths question was easy although the poetry took a bit more thinking about.

I will concede however that the words that needed explaining in the poem were second nature to me....I didn't need to read the notes.

[***super_nova***]

But these sort of tests are designed to have components too hard for most of the kids to be able to answer.  If the test was done such a way that most kids would be able to answer most of the questions, nobody would know how much more they are capable of.  The test should show what are the limits.  The test will show in what areas the kids need more help and where they are ahead.  It is in fact test for the school, and so schools put pressure on the kids, which is just wrong, just as it is wrong for the schools teaching the kids how to pass the test instead normal curriculum. 

[youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit]

The test is designed for a Yr 7 student- ie, 12 or 13 years old. 

Nova, I agree, they are written to test thinking and capability rather than to test what has been taught.

[k0llectable5]

I say keep her home on the days of Naplan testing.  It's all rubbish and if more people keep their kids home or petition the govt it will have to stop.  (Sorry I'm ranting) but I think it's disgusting the way schools put pressure on kids regarding Naplan.  It's not about your childs personal achievement at all it's about school "mean averages" and the fact of it is (and I mean absolutely no disrespect to your daughter Martini) but if she is likely to score lowly on the test the school would prefer to not have to add her results into the mix.  Of course they will never say that but the higher the average Naplan score the better it looks for them.  It's not an exam and has absolutely no bearing on the childs end of term results what so ever.  

She'd do better staying at home on the days of Naplan testing where you can engage her in something that will excercise her brain, like find a words or crosswords or painting or drawing or some creative writing anything rather than putting her through the stress of it.  Kids hate Naplan and so do most parents I've spoken to.