The early NAPLAN schedule has been criticised as more than 1 million students begin taking exams

Education experts have criticised the decision to hold NAPLAN tests in March rather than May this year, claiming that it is too early to assess progress and that the process risks harming students who are already vulnerable.

Over the next few weeks, nearly 1 million students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9 will be tested for literacy and numeracy on nearly 10,000 campuses to determine whether they are meeting important educational outcomes.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell of New South Wales said the early testing made the results more useful.
“What that means is that we’ll be able to get results back to parents and school communities faster, which I think is really important because it just makes that data so much more useful if we can get it back faster and just understand which students need additional support,” she explained.
However, education experts criticised the new schedule, which places the test just over halfway through the first term.
According to Venesser Fernandes, a lecturer in educational leadership studies at Monash University, it is too early in the school year to know whether students are effectively learning concepts taught at their year levels.

“For students who already face multiple learning and social disadvantages, the timing of the test may contribute to low self-esteem when their results are likely to fall in the lower two levels [of assessment],” she said.
“Even though the tests are done online, the time it takes to prepare the test results remains the same, which is the biggest disadvantage for the student and the parent.”
According to Dr. Fernandes, NAPLAN tests would be better held at the end of the year, giving students more time to absorb information.
Participation rates are continuing to fall.
There are also concerns about those who will be excluded.
According to a new paper for the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), secondary student participation has been steadily declining, with a sharp drop last year due in part to widespread flooding.
Jenny Donovan, CEO of AERO, stated that the most significant declines occurred in year 9.
“We’re finding that participation rates are seriously low for some of the most disadvantaged groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from remote and regional locations, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Dr Donovan said.
She attributed the decline to a variety of factors, including a lack of English proficiency.

“Some students may be exempt because they do not come from English-speaking families; they do not have enough English language to participate,” she explained.
“Some students have learning disabilities, some are absent, and some are withdrawn at their parents’ request.”
We’re seeing an increase in withdrawal and absenteeism.”
NAPLAN testing is used to better understand how Australian students progress through their learning, so data from as many students as possible is most useful.
This year’s results will also be reported differently, with the 10-grade structure used in previous years being reduced to four.
Given these changes, state and territory governments must ensure that results can be compared to previous years, according to Queensland Liberal National Party education spokesperson Christian Rowan.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s David de Carvalho emphasised the importance of keeping the test in context and encouraging students not to be concerned about it.
NAPLAN testing data helps inform policy development and identify which schools require additional assistance.
• NAPLAN data informs policy and identifies which schools require additional assistance.
• An education expert believes that this year’s testing is too early to demonstrate that students are learning effectively. • There are also concerns about a declining participation rate, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.