19/02/2020
NAPLAN SUCCESS
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
It has been an everyday part of the school calendar since 2008.
NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading,
writing, spelling and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken nationwide, every year, in the second full week in May.
NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas (or ‘domains’) of:
• reading
• writing
• language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• numeracy.
NAPLAN tests skills in literacy and numeracy that are developed over time through the school curriculum.
English SUCCESS
In the English learning area of each state and territory curriculum, students develop language and literacy skills and then apply these skills across a full range of learning areas. The NAPLAN reading tests measure literacy proficiency across the English learning area in line with the Australian Curriculum: English.
These tests focus on the reading of written English. Knowledge and interpretation of language conventions in context are also an important part of reading and are drawn upon in many reading questions.
In the tests, students are provided with a magazine containing a range of texts that illustrate different writing styles. Students read the texts provided then answer related questions in a separate booklet.
Our team allows for our students to have ample practise with various types of English text types and how to effectively answer questions correctly.
Writing SUCCESS
The Australian Curriculum: English requires students to be taught a variety of forms of writing at school. The three main text types (previously called genres) that are taught are imaginative writing (including narrative writing), informative writing and persuasive writing. In the writing tests, students are provided with a ‘writing stimulus’ (sometimes called a prompt – an idea or topic) and asked to write a response in a particular text type. To date the text types that students have been tested on are narrative writing and persuasive writing. Informative writing is not yet tested by NAPLAN.
The writing task targets the full range of student capabilities expected of students from Years 3 to 9. The same marking guide is used to assess all students' writing, allowing for a national comparison of student writing capabilities across these year levels.
Language Conventions SUCCESS
The language conventions tests assess spelling, grammar and punctuation. Literacy knowledge and skills are essential to effective communication across all learning areas. However, the tools of language, including language conventions, are explicitly developed in the English learning area. Therefore the content assessed in the language conventions tests is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: English.
The language conventions tests focus on the use and knowledge of language conventions in written standard Australian English. These skills are essential to the development of reading and writing. The content of the language conventions tests particularly complements the writing tests where spelling, grammar and punctuation are explicitly assessed in context. However, students’ understanding of language conventions is also necessary for reading.
Numeracy SUCCESS
The NAPLAN numeracy tests measure the achievement of students in numeracy. The main reference for numeracy as well as mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding is the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. The numeracy tests assess the proficiency strands of understanding, fluency, problem-solving and reasoning across the three content strands of mathematics: number and algebra; measurement and geometry; and statistics and probability.
Ask us how to help your child/children achieve NAPLAN SUCCESS!
