The number of children not sitting the Naplan tests has risen to its highest level in the system’s seven-year history, new figures have shown.
The 2014 Naplan report shows that the withdrawal rate of year three students in reading, writing and spelling is now at 2.7%, up 1% on last year. Children from the ACT, South Australia and Queensland were most likely to be withdrawn from the tests.
Some parents have criticised the national tests in years three, five and seven for putting undue pressure on children.
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) said that although participation in Naplan was still extremely high, any increase in withdrawals was a concern.
“Naplan provides valuable information for parents, teachers and schools to see how their children are progressing in the key areas of literacy and numeracy,” said Robert Randall, chief executive of Acara.
“Parents who withdraw their children from Naplan tests are choosing to not benefit from a second set of eyes on how well their children are doing, relative to other students of their age across the country.
“Every student should know how well he or she is doing – against national standards and in comparison with his or her peers.”
But Greens senator Penny Wright said Naplan placed too much emphasis on reading and writing tests at the expense of critical thinking and creativity.
“Naplan has become a high-stakes test, putting huge pressure on students and teachers,” she said.
“Publishing school results on the MySchool site has introduced a competitive element which encourages teaching to the test and can lead to incidences of cheating or withdrawal of low performing students. More and more parents are simply opting out of the Naplan tests – they’re deciding it’s just not worth it for their children.”
Student achievement levels have remained stable in the 2014 report, with 93.5% of year three students at or above the national minimum standard for reading.
The minimum standard for persuasive writing is 93.8% for year three students, with spelling at 93.9%. However, the achievement rates for Indigenous students are 15 to 20% below that of non-Indigenous students on each of these various skills.
Girls outdid boys in reading, writing and spelling across the country, although boys fared better in numeracy than girls, particularly in year three.
