Data cut in school website revamp

FRESH data on the literacy and numeracy of Tasmanian students will be available today on the new-look My School website.

Following a review of NAPLAN, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) will also cut the amount of information available on My School from today.

Parents will no longer be able to see how their child’s school compared with similar campuses, or the band that students’ results sat within.

Instead, students’ results would be shown with progress tables and comparisons to pupils with similar backgrounds, rather than in contrast to other schools.

The scrapping of information came after a review in December and an agreement between education ministers to overhaul the way NAPLAN is presented.

ACARA CEO David de Carvalho said the changes were being made to help parents and school authorities focus more on how a school is performing in terms of student progress over the two years since the previous NAPLAN tests, and less on “school versus school” comparisons that only take account of overall levels of achievement.

“It is important to remember that NAPLAN only provides a snapshot in time of achievement levels in two of the seven general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. It does not measure overall school quality,” Mr de Carvalho said. “The changes we are announcing today will hopefully go some way to helping everyone keep NAPLAN in perspective.

“My School information helps inform the discussions parents have with teachers and supports them in making informed decisions about their child’s education. A child’s teacher will have the best insight into educational progress.”

The 2020 My School update released today will contain 2019 NAPLAN results for schools, 2019 school profile and population data and 2018 school financial information, including capital expenditure and sources of funding.

The last NAPLAN results released showed Tasmanian schools remained below the national average across the board, but some inroads were made in the previous year in reading and writing standards.