National Student Assessment

I see Dr Andrew Leigh has an interesting question about the National Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Program, happening on 13-15 May.

He asks if the purpose of the test is to compare results nationally, is there a problem if the tests are marked at state/territory level, as will be the case?

Dr Leigh’s suggestion is to ensure the papers are not identifiable by state and arrange for different states to mark different school year’s tests.

The tests will be conducted in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 which means my daughter, who is in Year 5 at an ACT public school will be tested. I’ve got to say I’m nervous about the pressure this will put on her. There are 180 minutes of tests over three days for Year 5 students and while I might be being over protective, this seems fairly intense for a 10 year old.

That said, if we can utilise the national results to improve teaching and learning outcomes and not just use the information for reporting, then it will be a good thing.

While acknowledging the importance of educating kids in literacy and numeracy, we do need to accept there is much more to a balanced education than “reading, writing and arithmetic”.