Naplan
NAPLAN testing is scheduled this week (from May 15 to 17) in schools around the country. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA), as well as proponents of NAPLAN, make three central claims extolling the usefulness of this high-stakes test.
First, they claim NAPLAN will tell us that the tests are important to assess the quality of teaching in our children’s schools. Second, they will assure us that the tests can diagnose academic issues our children may be struggling with. Third, they will confirm that the purpose of NAPLAN is to maintain Australia’s high levels of literacy and numeracy in comparison to other countries in the world.
ACARA and the proponents of NAPLAN (including our education ministers) will not tell you that there almost a complete lack of evidence to support those three claims.
Continue reading "NAPLAN? Na, not a great curriculum plan" »
It is exciting to contemplate the future of schooling in Australia because in so doing we are reflecting on both the future of our children and our nation.
Right now, there are opportunities for us as educators, as we contemplate the future of schooling together. If we can embrace positively this demand for transparency and accountability, we can restore a sense of honour to our profession that should have always existed.
In part this will mean coming to grips with the enduring presence of transparency and accountability mechanisms such as NAPLAN diagnostic tests and MySchool websites.
Continue reading "Exciting times ahead for teachers and students" »
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Cat says:
Personally I feel the honorable approach is to reject the use of snapshot tests like naplan being monsterously misused as they are currently. High expectations are all well and good, but let us have them in every area and not just in those areas that lead to published results on… Read more »
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Tom says:
Jim, we have all tried pretty hard to get an answer to the question “what will be possible with NBN that is currently impossible?” Whatever it is, they’re not telling. Yes, Jim, “a simple question” and the answer is ..(drum roll).... “Secret Labor troll business”? My crap detector has run… Read more »
President Obama’s attack on high-stakes, standardised tests, like Australia’s National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), proves once again that Australian policy makers and educrats are championing failed educational experiments at the very time they are being ditched overseas.
It’s no secret that Australia’s national literacy and numeracy tests at years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and the policy of making individual school results public on the My School website, are copied from the US and, to a lesser extent, England.
Such is Julia Gillard’s infatuation with the US model of testing and accountability that she invited the New York Education Chancellor, Joel Klein, to Australia and justified NAPLAN and My School on the success of the New York model.
Continue reading "Gillard’s best mate Obama is no rap for NAPLAN" »
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Northern Steve says:
Most of these people are long out of school, and this data says nothing about schools as they currently stand. Schools have already moved on a long way from when these people were at school. Read more »
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Northern Steve says:
@MrMac, SATs etc are done by students completing school and hoping to gain entrance to college or university. Obama’s speech was aimed at students ‘lower down’, ie in lower grades, exams like our NAPLAN tests which are sat by students in greades 3, 5,7 and 9. Read more »
Where to send your child to school? With my two young sons approaching primary age and a multitude of themed kids’ birthday parties to attend in the lead up, this is the most common topic of conversation amongst all the parents.
Some parents are anxious about it, others take it more in their stride but they’re all talking about it.
At first I wasn’t too interested, in fact, I avoided the conversations. I thought them unnecessary. Yes I want a good school for my kids but it’s not the end of the world if it’s not perfect first time. Growing up I spent many years travelling the globe with my parents, and as such, I attended a vast array of primary and secondary schools. I can honestly say that at no point in my life have I felt that the regular changing of schools impacted adversely on my education. It was exciting, varied and helped to broaden my interests.
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mivpl says:
a school must ensure that the child is taught to ensure they meet the basic requirements for education. the end of the day, along with parental support,removals Read more »
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deborah says:
Maybe it will be wise to find out the best part or education or school plan for our kids. walking pneumonia symptoms or symptoms of walking pneumonia in adults Read more »
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