The NAPLAN program is an integral part of school for Australian families and one that Haileybury supports. It has many benefits for students, schools, and education generally.
The annual National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) sees students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 tested on the fundamental literacy and numeracy skills that every child needs to succeed in school and beyond.
The national, consistent measure determines whether students are meeting important educational outcomes.
Haileybury has supported NAPLAN since then Federal Minister for Education Julia Gillard introduced it in 2008. It is a useful tool and without it there would be no national measure for schools to base performance against.
Helping Haileybury Students Thrive
We know that sound literacy and numeracy skills set up a foundation for success in life after school.
For that reason, NAPLAN dovetails with Haileybury’s strong focus on the basics in Junior School and Middle School, which has led to a rise in the academic performance of Year 12 students.
In 2010, 32% of our girls and boys achieved an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 90 or above (top 10% in Australia) and 87% achieved 60 or above (top 40% in Australia). In 2020 those figures were 51% and 95%, respectively.
Some argue that NAPLAN produces a limited view of student learning and capabilities. But it is much more than that and provides valuable data to improve literacy and numeracy teaching and outcomes.
Getting The Basics Right
If you get the basics right from a young age, students are more likely to become successful all-round learners.
Schools can use NAPLAN data to track student performance and assess the effectiveness of their programs in these core areas.
This has never been more important. The 2018 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment of 15-year-olds (PISA) saw Australia plunge to 29th of 79 countries or regions in Mathematics literacy and 16th in Reading literacy.
When PISA started in 2003, Australia was in the top 10 in both categories. Using NAPLAN and other innovative learning programs, Haileybury has bucked this trend.
What NAPLAN Provides
The role NAPLAN can play in improving national standards is crucial. It is rich in useful data that all schools can analyse for improving teaching and, therefore, student outcomes.
At Haileybury, it has shown us that our Explicit Teaching Model delivers exceptional results in Junior School, where students are working around two years ahead of national benchmarks.
Our NAPLAN results, which are among Australia’s highest for open-entry independent schools, demonstrate that this system, which we share with other schools through the Haileybury Institute does work.
It also tells us if we are doing something wrong, and we can adjust our programs accordingly.
Supporting Students, Schools and Education
Haileybury CEO | Principal Mr Derek Scott has been appointed to the Board of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) which runs NAPLAN.
Mr Scott will support the next phase of the program. He says there is always room for improvement, but NAPLAN is a valuable tool for examining student and school performance.
Families can use individual results to learn about how their child is progressing, and Haileybury can break the data down by class and campus. If a teacher has performed exceptionally well, their methods can be shared.
Education officials can also collate results by individual school, school type, location, and other relevant factors. All this information helps all educators do their jobs better.
NAPLAN measures skills that are needed for every child to progress through school and life. Regardless of their school’s type, size, or socioeconomic status, this is a good thing.
