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Articles on NAPLAN

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Different questions for low and high achievers is actually beneficial for judging how students at each end of the spectrum are going. Alan Porritt/AAP

Tailored online NAPLAN better for monitoring high and low achievers

Tailored testing where the test gets easier or harder depending on how the student is faring actually gives us a better idea of how students are going.
Will a computer algorithm understand the creativity, flair, irony, wit and unconventional approaches used in kids’ writing? from www.shutterstock.com.au

Who needs teachers when computers can mark exams?

NAPLAN is going to be marked by computers from 2017. Can an algorithm understand the complex and emotional writing techniques we want our children to be learning?
While more information on schools isn’t a bad thing, it won’t lift outcomes. AAP

My School website won’t lift outcomes for all schools

Expecting the My School website to improve learning outcomes assumes that parents will see a drop in results and move their child to the other school down the road - but markets in education just don’t work like this.
Measures to close the gap in Indigenous education outcomes aren’t working. AAP

Closing the Gap in education report card: needs improvement

This year’s update on Closing the Gap presents a picture similar to 2014 in education - there is much work still to be done to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students…
Non-cognitive skills like perseverance and hard work might be more accurate predictors of success than literacy and numeracy quizzes. Shutterstock

School should be about more than just measuring intelligence

Who do you think would do better at school or in the workplace: someone who is smart, but lazy, or someone who is not naturally brilliant but will keep working at a problem until they get it right? Intuitively…
Offering cash incentives for school performance seems like a good idea, but there are a lot of unwanted consequences. Shutterstock

Why cash incentives aren’t a good idea in education

If there is one iron law of economics it is this: people respond to incentives. Offer an “all you can eat” buffet and people eat a lot. Double the demerit points for speeding on a holiday weekend and fewer…
NAPLAN testing can’t be all bad if the government is still committed to it, can it? Shutterstock

Criticise if you must, the NAPLAN tests are valuable for teachers

Since NAPLAN, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy began in 2008, everyone and their dog has criticised the process. Detractors say teachers are forced to teach to the test, it pits…
Leader of the pack: Djalu Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan leads younger performers at the 2013 Garma Festival in Arnhem Land. AAP Image/Youthu Yindi Foundation

Listen to your elders: inviting Aboriginal parents back to school

Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion with students in the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory. Research shows acting on overcrowded housing could greatly improve Indigenous kids’ school attendance in remote communities. AAP/Neda Vanovac

How crowded homes can lead to empty schools in the bush

Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
NAPLAN results do have their uses, but they are often overstated and they certainly don’t paint a picture of a child’s overall success at school. AAP

NAPLAN results don’t tell us the whole story

Results are out for NAPLAN 2014, and already the discussions have started around the meaning of those results. The program remains controversial, with academics and the public debating its impact on students…
School is the place where questioning the status quo should take place - but not in a high-stakes test. AAP

Testing democracy: NAPLAN produces culture of compliance

There has been widespread and well-justified critique of the NAPLAN tests in Australian schools. Concerns have focused on the ways the testing severely narrows the school curriculum, compounds disadvantage…
Is NAPLAN worthwhile? Or is it just putting pressure on our kids for no good reason? AAP

NAPLAN testing does more harm than good

New research raises questions about the impacts of the National Assessment Program – Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN) on the wellbeing of students and on positive teaching and learning approaches. NAPLAN…
Paper and pencil NAPLAN testing will go online in 2016, but will schools be ready? bibiphoto / Shutterstock.com

NAPLAN online: will Australian schools and students be ready?

The Australian Government plans to conduct the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) online from 2016. This presents a significant challenge for Australia’s 9,500 schools. Conducting…
Years of schooling separate the rich kids from the poor kids. www.shutterstock.com.au

Why poor kids continue to do poorly in the education game

The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Stewart Riddle outlines the correlation between low socioeconomic backgrounds…
Simply standing in front of a class and telling children how we are used to doing things ‘just won’t work’, according to leading American education expert Linda Darling-Hammond. AAP/Dan Peled

In Conversation: Maxine McKew and Linda Darling-Hammond

Watch the video of Maxine McKew interviewing Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond below. Australian schoolkids are scoring higher than their US counterparts in maths, science and literacy, but a visiting…

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