National NAPLAN results are released today, putting the spotlight on students’ numeracy and literacy skills.
- Senior Lecturer in Education, University of New England
The largest proportion of students attending private schools in New South Wales is still in major cities. But inner regional areas are catching up.
On Wednesday, we got the results of how individual schools performed in this year’s NAPLAN tests.
An Australian study suggests early education is not making as much of a difference as it should when it comes to young children’s development and learning.
If the results are disappointing, try not to catastrophise them. For one thing, NAPLAN was done about four months ago – students will have made progress since then.
Over the past two decades, the number of students attending independent schools has grown faster than those attending public schools, particularly in high school.
My study clearly shows no long-term decline in NAPLAN results from 2008 to 2022. In 2023, they changed the way the test was organised.
Two researchers independently studied Australian students’ results. These papers both reached the same conclusions: scores on the vast majority of standardised assessments are not in decline.
A new study looked at NAPLAN results in reading and numeracy and tracked the same students all the way from from Year 3 to Year 9.
There is endless debate about whether private schools add value to students’ academic results. But research consistently shows when socioeconomic factors are taken into account, this is not the case.
Students in Year 3 had slightly higher results in NAPLAN if they were held back. By Year 9 students who were held back did no better on NAPLAN tests than those sent when first eligible.
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