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NAPLAN plan binned
NSW minister dumps contentious plan to link NAPLAN results with HSC.
The Independent Education Union of Australia has“ cautiously welcomed” a decision to scrap plans that would link NAPLAN results with qualifying for the HSC.
NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes recently announced that the contentious plan would not go ahead, after a backlash from parents, schools and union members.
One of the new modular classrooms built in Victoria. Photo: University of Melbourne
Prefab classrooms way of the future
Modular classrooms provide a cost-effective alternative to building onsite, experts say.
As the Australian population and school enrolments continue to grow, prebuilt modular classrooms may be the solution the education sector needs.
The government announced that in place of the original plan, students would be required to demonstrate that they could meet minimum literacy and numeracy standards through an online test, before completing the HSC.
IEUA NSW / ACT branch secretary John Quessy said the organisation had been lobbying for action on the topic but would not celebrate until more information was provided.
“ Acknowledging that NAPLAN is a diagnostic test with the purpose of helping teachers assist and guide students’ learning is the right approach. However, additional online tests could cause more stress to students and more workload for teachers and distract from HSC studies,” Quessy said.
“ We are awaiting more information from the department about what these tests will look like.
“ What will be the benchmark used for these tests and how will they be administered?
“ At this stage we have concerns and want to ensure the relevance and integrity of the HSC as a school exit credential is not compromised.”
The new tests will be available for students to take in Year 10, 11 or 12, and will involve“ a process similar to obtaining the NSW learner driver’ s licence”, according to Stokes.
The decision was made in consultation with teachers, parents and school communities. ■
This is the opinion of University of Melbourne researchers, who are currently working with BHA Project Management and the Victorian government to design and deliver more than 100 prefabricated schools over four years.
With Victoria’ s population alone predicted to grow to 10 million by 2051, the university’ s Dr David Heath and Dr Tharaka Gunawardena say modular classrooms provide a cost-effective solution to meet the rising demand.
“ This new generation of prefab classrooms are bright, adaptable to different configurations and well insulated against outside elements and noise,” Heath said.
“ Constructed offsite in as little as 17 weeks, the modular classroom looks set to play a leading role in our learning environment. Because they are not constructed onsite, waste is reduced by up to 40 per cent.”
As well as being sustainable and quick to build, Heath said the classrooms likely to play a big part in the future of the country’ s school architecture bear little resemblance to the‘ demountables’ or‘ portables’ of the past.
“ Modular construction is a natural fit for schools, as up to 95 per cent of construction takes place offsite, with onsite activities reduced to weeks instead of months,” he said.
“ Getting the timing right is crucial. Demolition, site preparation, delivery and installation all have to happen during the narrow window of a school-term break. Fortunately, the timing can be incredibly precise for this new generation of modular classrooms.
“ Further benefits of a factory build include improved worker safety, a better working environment and the removal of delays due to bad weather.”
There are currently 1547 government schools and more than 600,000 students in the state of Victoria alone. ■
8 | educationreview. com. au