More than 86,000 students across South Australia will start National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing today.
NAPLAN is held in schools across Australia each year, including 715 sites in South Australia this year, with students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 taking part in online testing.
NAPLAN helps evaluate whether young people are reaching important numeracy and literacy goals and is tailored to each year level, to assess skills in writing, reading, spelling, grammar, punctuation and numeracy.
Mathematics education is among the key focus areas for the Malinauskas Labor Government, with a math improvement strategy leading to a new mathematics assessment process being trialed, and financial literacy tools being included in the new school curriculum.
This year the NAPLAN testing period is between Wednesday 12 March and Monday 24 March. It is the third year the test will be held in Term 1, after it was moved from May to March in 2023.
The move ensures NAPLAN results are made available earlier in the year to better inform teaching and learning programs, and helps teachers assess what support students may need in the coming year.
Preliminary results in all domains except writing, will be provided to schools about four weeks after the test period ends.
Tips to help students manage anxiety during the testing includes:
- Encouraging children to take their time and read each question carefully.
- Ensuring they have a good night's sleep the night before and a healthy breakfast in the morning.
As put by Blair Boyer
NAPLAN is an important measure for teachers and parents to see how students are progressing. It's a way where we can identify if any extra supports need to be put in place, or if students need to be extended in certain areas.
NAPLAN can seem daunting to our year 3, 5, 7, and 9 students, but all we ask, is they try their best.
NAPLAN results have remained fairly consistent year on year with some promising trends starting to emerge from our numeracy focus.
In the past, it's not been possible for NAPLAN results to be used in the same school year as a way to help shape a student's education moving forward. By moving the test earlier in the year, schools can identify what supports students might need and put them in place during that same school year.
To support our students and teachers, we are introducing a comprehensive plan to improve our schools including implementing the Mathematics Improvement Strategy, as well as investing $50 million into mental health and wellbeing, which is important to seeing every South Australian student achieve their academic potential.
As put by Salisbury East High School Principal Sue Shepherd
NAPLAN results provide our teachers with information about individual students and the range within each class.
Additionally, NAPLAN results provide information about individual students that signposts a need for further investigation or targeted intervention.
At this stage of the year, we're able to take those results and make sure we address any gaps in their literacy and numeracy knowledge to give them a great start to the school year.
