❓ Hon. Donna Faragher questions the Minister for Education and Training regarding the discrepancies in NAPLAN Online results and the planned rollout for 2019. The Minister acknowledges issues with data comparability and announces an independent review to inform future decisions.
AnsweredQoN 621Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
NAPLAN ONLINE
621. Hon DONNA FARAGHER to the Minister for
Education and Training:
I refer to NAPLAN
Online and the minister's statement in The West Australian of 9 August,
and I quote —
''If the
stories that we're hearing to date are that the system is not ready, we
will not proceed with the final rollout.''
(1)
Has the School Curriculum and Standards Authority completed its analysis of the
Western Australian results from NAPLAN 2018; and, if not, when is it expected
to be completed?
(2) If yes to (1),
what is the outcome of SCSA's analysis?
(3)
In light of the minister's previous comments, is she intending to make
any changes to the rollout of NAPLAN Online in 2019; and, if yes, what are the
expected changes?
621. Hon DONNA FARAGHER to the Minister for
Education and Training:
I refer to NAPLAN
Online and the minister's statement in The West Australian of 9 August,
and I quote —
''If the
stories that we're hearing to date are that the system is not ready, we
will not proceed with the final rollout.''
(1)
Has the School Curriculum and Standards Authority completed its analysis of the
Western Australian results from NAPLAN 2018; and, if not, when is it expected
to be completed?
(2) If yes to (1),
what is the outcome of SCSA's analysis?
(3)
In light of the minister's previous comments, is she intending to make
any changes to the rollout of NAPLAN Online in 2019; and, if yes, what are the
expected changes?
AnswerView source ↗
The honourable
member gave some notice of this question, so I will give the written answer,
but I want to add some information, and we have had the opportunity to discuss
this behind the Chair.
Originally, the
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which is the
national body responsible for the application of NAPLAN, gave ministers advice
that NAPLAN Online, which is being trialled, and the pen-and-paper NAPLAN test
could be reported on one scale and that it would be easy to compare the results
between them. The ministers drilled into that information given by ACARA and
sought specific assurances that that comparison could be done. It became clear
on the 2018 results that, in fact, ACARA's advice to the ministers was
not right and that discrepancies showed that it was not possible to compare, in
its rawest form, online with paper and pen. I preface the next bit by saying
that I am a supporter of NAPLAN and NAPLAN Online because I think it is better
that teaching staff get access to the data from NAPLAN much quicker, which is
the whole point of doing it online, so that they can then adjust the teaching
that they need to do accordingly. It has been quite disappointing to me that
this discrepancy has occurred.
(1) Yes, SCSA has
completed its analysis.
(2)
Based on the assumption that the revised data provided by ACARA to SCSA is
correct, the authority has confirmed that the 2018 NAPLAN results reflect the
performance of students in schools who sat the pen-and-paper test and those who
sat the online test. Essentially, statistical adjustments have been made so
that they are comparable.
(3)
The third part of the member's question was whether, in light of my
previous comments, I intend to make any changes to the rollout of NAPLAN Online
in 2019. On the advice of SCSA, I am supporting an urgent and independent
review of NAPLAN 2018 to ensure that test construction and design for 2019 does
not result in the discrepancies we experienced in 2018. The results of that
review will inform whether or not WA proceeds with the rollout of NAPLAN Online
in 2019.
member gave some notice of this question, so I will give the written answer,
but I want to add some information, and we have had the opportunity to discuss
this behind the Chair.
Originally, the
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which is the
national body responsible for the application of NAPLAN, gave ministers advice
that NAPLAN Online, which is being trialled, and the pen-and-paper NAPLAN test
could be reported on one scale and that it would be easy to compare the results
between them. The ministers drilled into that information given by ACARA and
sought specific assurances that that comparison could be done. It became clear
on the 2018 results that, in fact, ACARA's advice to the ministers was
not right and that discrepancies showed that it was not possible to compare, in
its rawest form, online with paper and pen. I preface the next bit by saying
that I am a supporter of NAPLAN and NAPLAN Online because I think it is better
that teaching staff get access to the data from NAPLAN much quicker, which is
the whole point of doing it online, so that they can then adjust the teaching
that they need to do accordingly. It has been quite disappointing to me that
this discrepancy has occurred.
(1) Yes, SCSA has
completed its analysis.
(2)
Based on the assumption that the revised data provided by ACARA to SCSA is
correct, the authority has confirmed that the 2018 NAPLAN results reflect the
performance of students in schools who sat the pen-and-paper test and those who
sat the online test. Essentially, statistical adjustments have been made so
that they are comparable.
(3)
The third part of the member's question was whether, in light of my
previous comments, I intend to make any changes to the rollout of NAPLAN Online
in 2019. On the advice of SCSA, I am supporting an urgent and independent
review of NAPLAN 2018 to ensure that test construction and design for 2019 does
not result in the discrepancies we experienced in 2018. The results of that
review will inform whether or not WA proceeds with the rollout of NAPLAN Online
in 2019.
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