Ky P-12 principal sees plenty of positives in NAPLAN test results

NAPLAN results have delivered a mixed message for Kyabram P-12 college.

The 2017 scores were released to the public recently, showing the successes and shortfalls of students in years 3-9 around Australia.

The tests measure students’ reading, writing and arithmetic skills, and for the Ky school they’ve highlighted some great successes.

The school performed fairly on-par with the state averages, with the exception of the year 3 results, which were above average and the year 9 results, which were slightly lower.

“We’ve had some really positive results from the tests, 48 per cent of our year 3 students achieved a score in the top two bands in some areas, which is fantastic,” principal Stuart Bott said.

“It was similar for the writing exercise also, with 40 per cent of year 3 in the top two bands.’’

He said although there were successes, the school couldn’t ignore the areas in need of improvement.

“These are really good outcomes and while we’re celebrating them we’re also dealing with areas we need to improve on,” he said.

“We had some year 9 results which were lower than expected and there are plans which have been put in place to correct that.

“One of the key points is we need to prepare students for the tests because some don’t respond too well to a once-a-year test.”

However the school isn’t too fazed by the rankings as it reviews its four-year plan.

“We have a plan in place from 2017-2020 and we’ve actually achieved some of our goals in a year — which means we’ve had to reset our targets,” he said.

The level of students’ academic growth from year 5 to 7 was slightly above average, a positive Mr Bott credits to the school’s P-12 structure and the transitioning programs in place.

“One of our goals is to have students develop a high level of self-motivation and in seven areas out of 10 we achieved 90 per cent positive feedback,” he said.

“That’s a huge growth for us, it jumped about 40 or 50 per cent.

“Attendance improved from 2015-17 in the prep to 6 levels from 17.55 per cent absentee rate to 14.3 per cent — that’s an average of three days per student per year.”

Programs that have worked for the primary levels will be extended into the secondary years.

“The secondary years will need some improvement and so we’re taking a long-term view of our issues rather than looking for a fast solution which may not work,” he said.