Public or Private? NAPLAN Results Show Little Difference When It Comes to Student Progress

Do you reckon you’re learning enough?

The kind of school you go to doesn’t make much of an impact on your learning progress, a report from The Grattan Institute has found.

After comparing NAPLAN results, the think tank discovered the needle on student progress didn’t move much when different sectors where compared with one another.

"Knowing whether a student attends a government, Catholic or independent school gives virtually no guidance on how fast they will progress in NAPLAN," the report found.

The report also added that size doesn’t matter either, saying "a big or small school" has "little relationship" to how well a student learns.

However, the report nonetheless indicated that students in low-achieving schools "make only half the progress in numeracy from Year 7 to Year 9 as students in high-achieving schools," suggesting that many of those schools deliver "a lot less than a year’s worth of growth each year".

Why do we still measure NAPLAN again?

The NAPLAN examinations have been a controversial sticking point for schools and state governments, with experts speaking out against it (and offering snarky tips on how to succeed).

Student Edge conducted a survey of more than 250 students who had recently completed the NAPLAN test across Australia and when asked if they would support getting rid of the test, 63 per cent said they would.

But, the Australian Government has insisted the NAPLAN is here to stay, though they’re looking into changing how the results are displayed.

As the Grattan report points out, "NAPLAN does not capture everything that matters in school education, but it is the only test in Australia that enables us to compare student progress across every school."

With that in mind…

Here's how the different states shake out.

According to the ABC’s breakdown, the state in which you study can also affect your progress, with Grattan finding that Queenslanders between Years 3 and 5 are making two months more progress in reading than the national average, and approximately one month more progress in numeracy.

That puts them ahead of all other states, though Western Australia primary students are also just above the national average for numeracy, reading and writing.

NSW was found to be "great" when it came to "stretching advantaged students… but not so good at supporting disadvantaged students," while Victoria "is the reverse".

Northern Territory and Tasmanian schools were found to match the national average when it came to student progress.

Those in the ACT make "two to three months less progress". Back in August, when it was revealed Canberra schools were lagging, experts questioned the results.

The question is, will these findings lead to changes in schools, or changes in NAPLAN examinations?

Header Image: iStock.com/courtneyk