Serious NAPLAN issues

THE NAPLAN results we have analysed on pages eight and nine today are sure to spark plenty of comment.

The testing has always been controversial. Many schools do not believe the testing is as important as other attributes they impart in their students.

Sheer academic success is certainly not the only mark of a successful student.

The type of person who schools turn out is much more important.

Looking at the NAPLAN results can involve many different interpretations.

Certainly the preponderance of some schools at the low end of the scale raises a serious question.

Should a person’s socio-economic status have such a major effect on a child’s chances of success at school and later in life.

Parents, who because of lower incomes, are forced to live in lower socio-economic areas will see that the odds facing their children are considerably higher.

This is no criticism of staff working at these schools.

Teachers everywhere are working huge hours with amazing results.

But these results definitely show that children from low-income families are less likely to enjoy great academic success and the benefits that brings in later life.

That has to be addressed.