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NAPLAN adds to student stress and anxiety , and teachers ’ increasing workloads .
AEU President Correna Haythorpe . Photo : AAP / James Ross
Maintaining standards
NAPLAN results ‘ encouraging ’, but the AEU wants the test scrapped .
By Wade Zaglas
The release of the 2021 NAPLAN results confirmed there has been no statistically significant drop in student performance resulting from two years of the pandemic at both national and state / territory levels .
Despite this positive news , the Australian Education Union ( AEU ) is calling for the test to be scrapped , arguing that the majority of public school principals and teachers see little value in it .
The national literacy and numeracy test was undertaken by more than one million students across the country in May last year , after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Acting minister for education and youth , Stuart Robert , called the preliminary results “ encouraging ” as they were generally consistent with the last cycle of testing in 2019 .
“ It is heartening to see that overall NAPLAN results have remained stable with no changes in subject area , year level or jurisdiction ,” Robert said .
“ We can see that female students have outperformed male students in reading and writing , while male students continue to outperform female students in numeracy . Over the past six years , the gap in numeracy has generally been widening , except in Year 9 where the gap is stable .
“ Overall , the national report reaffirmed the preliminary findings that the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to schooling had no statistically significant impact on students ’ literacy and numeracy achievement in NAPLAN at the national or state / territory level .”
GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS Despite the latest NAPLAN results being encouraging on an overall level , the minister for regional education , Bridget McKenzie , noted that a gap in performance between regional and city students remains . She added that addressing this gap is a priority for the coalition government .
“ We know that as geographical remoteness increases , student performance decreases in key areas like numeracy and reading . This is why we have appointed The Hon Fiona Nash as the inaugural regional education commissioner , who will be a powerful advocate for regional schools and their students ,” McKenzie said .
The gap between high and low socio educational student groups appears to have widened between 2019 and 2019 , early indications from the Australian Curriculum , Assessment and Reporting Authority ( ACARA ) suggest . However , further analysis will be undertaken by ACARA to determine whether this gap is related to the pandemic and accompanying school closures or part of a longer-term national trend .
TEACHERS ’ AND PRINCIPALS ’ THOUGHTS ON THE TEST But while politicians might be happy with the 2021 NAPLAN results , a new survey conducted by the Australian Education Union ( AEU ) shows that public school principals and teachers continue to view the national test as “ outdated ” and “ ineffective ”.
AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said the “ vast majority ” of educators surveyed expressed concerns about how NAPLAN was affecting teacher workloads and increasing students ’ stress and anxiety levels , while delivering no “ real results ”. “ NAPLAN is not fit for purpose in our schools ,” Haythorpe said , drawing attention to the AEU ’ s 2021 State of our Schools survey , which found :
• 73 per cent of principals say that NAPLAN increases teacher workloads .
• 86 per cent of principals say that NAPLAN contributes to students ’ stress and anxiety .
• 59 per cent of principals say that NAPLAN makes no difference to student outcomes .
• 62 per cent of teachers say that NAPLAN is an ineffective diagnostic tool for teachers . “ It does not properly assess student outcomes and achievements , nor does it account for the hard work teachers undertake to cater to varying student needs and ensure high quality teaching and learning happens in schools ,” Haythorpe added .
“ Additionally , NAPLAN adds to student stress and anxiety , and teachers ’ increasing workloads .”
Haythorpe points to research conducted by the University of New South Wales ’ Gonski Institute , which had earlier concluded that NAPLAN ’ s competitive and high stakes nature is “ deeply problematic , with a one-size-fits-all approach that is detrimental to staff and students ”.
“ Assessment is a critical component of teaching and learning , and a new national assessment system must be an urgent priority for all Australian governments ,” Haythorpe said .
“ NAPLAN should be scrapped and replaced with a comprehensive program of classroom-based and teacher-led assessments , along with sample-based testing .
“ The union and its members must be consulted to develop a framework that puts the needs of students , teachers and parents at the centre of assessment .” ■
4 | educationreview . com . au