April 2018
As representatives of Australia’s national parent organisations, which advocate for parents of students around Australia, we support the useful role NAPLAN plays in the education of children.
NAPLAN is an objective tool for parents that provides a point-in-time assessment – a snapshot of a student’s literacy and numeracy achievement compared with class, school and national achievement. NAPLAN provides parents with additional information to have informed conversations with teachers about their child’s educational progress.
It is those with most to gain from education that NAPLAN clearly identifies. NAPLAN shines a spotlight that allows us all to advocate for the necessary resources and support needed for all Australian children.
Every child in Australia must have an opportunity to succeed as a literate and numerate individual in his or her school community – a freedom that is given by having the right resources, in the right place and at the right time.
NAPLAN gives parents a picture of how their child is progressing from a national perspective. It is a snapshot that, along with their child’s report, provides a basis for further discussion with the child’s teacher.
It is often reassuring for parents to be able to see how their children are going and that they are where they should be. NAPLAN allows parents to see which areas their children are stronger in, and where they may need help.
Parents can then work with teachers to encourage and support their child to achieve their best in school. For most parents, the only other time they get to see this is when their child is taking their end-of-school external exams. Parents need this information earlier to support their child in the areas they may be struggling with.
Our role as the peak parent organisations is to encourage families to keep the NAPLAN assessment in perspective – as a point-in-time assessment that, in conjunction with school-based tests and other information, contributes to the partnership between home and school.
For parents, it is useful to know how their child is going from an independent source. Literacy and numeracy are the basic building blocks of all children's education. There is a lot of unnecessary angst around NAPLAN assessments. [NAPLAN] should remain a simple snapshot of how children are doing to help focus teachers and parents on the best outcomes for children.
Shelley Hill, APC President, April 2018
[The] data allows us to work in partnership with our teachers, school leaders and supporting bureaucracy with objective information to improve the learning opportunities for every child in our schools, and to ensure that true need is addressed.
Phillip Spratt, ACSSO President, March 2018
Many of our members and their children live in rural and regional Australia, and the information we can access from NAPLAN helps our parents see how their child is going in literacy and numeracy, compared with others in their school, in their state and in the country. This is very important when considering that many of these children will then go on to attend boarding schools in large cities for their high school years. Being the only national test that measures these skills, [NAPLAN] is a useful tool to make sure our isolated parents and their children aren’t being left behind.
Wendy Hick, Federal President ICPA Australia, April 2018
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/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).
