Primary school students have fared best since NAPLAN was introduced in 2008.
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For the first time the NAPLAN 2018 summary results issued on Tuesday included combined data for online and paper student cohorts.
“Overall, the NAPLAN results for 2018 show that since 2008 there have been statistically significant gains in a number of domains and year levels, particularly at the primary level,” said ACARA CEO Robert Randall.
The summary information provides preliminary results at the national, and state and territory level for each school year (3, 5, 7 and 9) and for all domains tested in NAPLAN.
Read more: NAPLAN writing skills on the slide
The data provide comparisons of 2018 results with 2017 and with base years (2008 for numeracy, reading and conventions of language, and 2011 for writing).
Results this year were stable, with no statistically significant changes compared with 2017 in any of the NAPLAN domains.
However, compared with the base year, the performance of Australian students in years 5 and 9 numeracy, years 3 and 5 reading, years 3 and 5 spelling, and years 3 and 7 grammar was significantly above the NAPLAN 2008 average.
The writing test results in years 5, 7 and 9 were below those observed in the 2011 base year.
Mr Randall said all Australian education systems would move to NAPLAN Online by 2020.
Around 20 per cent of students undertook NAPLAN online this year, with a larger percentage of students expected to do the test online in 2019.
“This was the first year in which some students took NAPLAN online and the transition was smooth, with feedback from schools at the time of testing stating that students found the online assessment engaging,” Mr Randall said.
“The NAPLAN Online platform performed well and 99.8 per cent of students were able to complete the assessment online.”
NAPLAN results were reviewed and endorsed by independent measurement advisory experts before being released.
Professor Ray Adams is the chair of the Measurement Advisory Group that provides advice to ACARA on NAPLAN technical issues regarding assessment and measurement.
In a release to media on Monday evening, he rejected the conclusions of the recently released Perelman review of NAPLAN comparability.
Dr Les Perelman argued the results of this year’s “flawed” NAPLAN test should be “discarded”.
But Prof Adams said “it is my belief that Professor Perelman’s report is under-researched and lacks the technical understanding required for the analysis of NAPLAN tests and results.
“Professor Perelman’s expertise to make these claims is questionable as he is not recognised through the peer-reviewed academic literature as an expert in the field of computer adaptive assessment.”
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
