Readers pore over online analysis by The Chronicle

THE Chronicle’s analysis of Toowoomba’s NAPLAN results was the news site’s best-read story yesterday, and sparked a debate online with many people sharing their thoughts on the testing system.

Some parents debated whether schools coached students ahead of NAPLAN testing, and if so, if the practice constituted an unfair advantage.

“So which schools actually coached the students to get great scores in NAPLAN? And which schools ensured the not-so-smart students didn’t complete the exams?” asked Gavin Mingay.

But Joanna Bishop responded: “Is it bad to be coached? Could we look at it as maybe preparing children for tests as it’s something that happens or is it something to think negatively on if they are being coached and leaving out the children who don’t perform well. I do hope it’s more the positive side.”

Christine Justice said no coaching should be necessary, however, as the test was a way to understand how children were progressing with their education.

Comparing the results of schools bothered some.

“When NAPLAN was introduced we were told that it would NEVER be used to rate schools or students, it was just a snapshot of how our students were progressing according to the curriculum. And now it’s being used for exactly what the government said it would never be used for,” said Lisa Salisbury.

But for Belinda Gilbert, the results were irrelevant: “I don’t care if my school is on it or not cuz (sic) I know it’s an all round fantastic school.”

Other readers pored over the analysis by The Chronicle, carefully noting particular results.

“Surprisingly, Toowoomba East did great compared to the private schools,” observed Kristy Mott.

“Harristown, Harlaxton and Rockville all scored the lowest,” she added.

Dave Harms was proud of Our Lady of Lourdes whose Year Five students excelled, placing in the top five across Toowoomba schools in every category. The school’s Year Three students were the top ranked readers and placed third in numeracy.