NAPLAN results to be delivered faster

With more than one million school students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across Australia sitting the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments from tomorrow, parents and teachers can expect to see the results sooner.

Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP said that as part of the Government’s commitment to delivering faster turnaround of NAPLAN results, teachers and parents will this year be able to access this valuable information sooner than ever before.

“The NAPLAN summary information will be made available even earlier this year, online from 31 July, after which parents will receive individual student reports,” Mr Pyne said.

Under the previous Government results didn’t arrive until late in the school year, meaning the opportunity to address any issues apparent in the results may have slipped away.

Results will be produced faster still when NAPLAN testing goes online from 2017.

“State and territory education ministers agreed late last year that NAPLAN will move online from 2017 over a two to three-year period,” Mr Pyne said.

Schools will be able to trial online testing from next year. For some schools this year’s test will be the last time students sit a paper test.

The Government remains committed to NAPLAN as one valuable part of a toolbox for understanding student progress.

“These assessments are important because they identify whether children have the basic literacy and numeracy skills required to create the foundation for learning in all other subjects,” he said.

“The assessments are based on curriculum content that all teachers across the country are required to cover and reflect the essential elements that should be taught at each year level. Therefore there is no need for students to feel anxious and teachers and schools to excessively prepare.”

Students only sit the NAPLAN test four times over their entire school life, but this small commitment provides an extremely valuable and worthwhile snapshot of their progress.

Teachers can use NAPLAN information to understand how their students are performing against national benchmarks.

“Literacy and numeracy skills are crucial for children to successfully progress not only through school, but through life,” Mr Pyne said.

“NAPLAN online will provide better assessment, more precise information on students’ strengths and weaknesses, and much faster turnaround of information,” Mr Pyne said.