NAPLAN online – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

August 23, 2023

The latest NAPLAN results don’t look great but we need to go beyond the headline figures

Jessica Holloway, Australian Catholic University

According to this year’s NAPLAN results, one third of Australian students do not meet minimum achievement levels in literacy and numeracy.

March 14, 2023

NAPLAN results inform schools, parents and policy. But too many kids miss the tests altogether

Lucy Lu, University of Sydney and Olivia Groves, Curtin University

Our analysis reveals the participation rate is alarmingly low for some groups of students, such as First Nations kids and students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

The current debate about comparability would be more concerning if 2018 results showed radically different trends compared to previous years, but they don’t. www.shutterstock.com

August 27, 2018

NAPLAN 2018 summary results: a few weeks late, but otherwise little change from previous years

Glenn Savage, The University of Western Australia; Jessica Holloway, Deakin University, and Steven Lewis, Deakin University

The current debate about comparability would be more concerning if 2018 results showed radically different trends compared to previous years, but they don’t.

NAPLAN is a “dumb” test administered to all students, regardless of contextual factors such as location and culture. Shutterstock

May 18, 2018

Beyond ‘dumb’ tests: NAPLAN needs to value regional, rural and remote students

Philip Roberts, University of Canberra

There is no need for all students to sit the same test, that asks the same questions, on the same day. We are smarter than that.

4.5 million young Australians between the ages of nine and 24 have taken NAPLAN tests at some point during their schooling. Shutterstock

May 16, 2018

We need to reform NAPLAN to make it more useful

Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research

NAPLAN has now been in place for a decade and needs ongoing review and refinement to make it more useful to classroom teaching and learning.

We need to look for more engaging and relevant assessments that use the tools available in an online environment for re-envisioning NAPLAN. Shutterstock

May 15, 2018

Re‑envisioning NAPLAN: use technology to make the tests more authentic and relevant

Katina Zammit, Western Sydney University

Assessments need to be relevant to the real world and test more complex skills to better predict competency, standards of literacy and teaching.

Standardised assessments can inform what teachers teach, based on evidence of student learning. Shutterstock

November 23, 2017

Evidence‑based education needs standardised assessment

Jen Jackson, Australian Council for Educational Research; Raymond J Adams, Australian Council for Educational Research, and Ross Turner

Standardised tests are a powerful tool for building an evidence base of what works to guide education policy.

After 10 years of minimal breakthroughs, NAPLAN doesn’t seem to be going anywhere but online. Shutterstock

November 15, 2017

NAPLAN only tells part of the story of student achievement

Rachael Jacobs, Western Sydney University and Katina Zammit, Western Sydney University

NAPLAN is great at tracking changes over time and between demographics, but not so great at measuring what factors effect change, engagement or creativity.

Will a computer algorithm understand the creativity, flair, irony, wit and unconventional approaches used in kids’ writing? from www.shutterstock.com.au

May 4, 2015

Who needs teachers when computers can mark exams?

Stewart Riddle, University of Southern Queensland

NAPLAN is going to be marked by computers from 2017. Can an algorithm understand the complex and emotional writing techniques we want our children to be learning?

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