tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673598978629390697.post8543831604824862865..comments2024-03-28T20:36:01.373+11:00Comments on The Snow Report: Can we talk about NAPLAN?Pamela Snow | The Snow Reporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17754222675609183221noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673598978629390697.post-446781414066617032015-08-10T09:29:09.935+10:002015-08-10T09:29:09.935+10:00I agree with your points, but there are a few othe...I agree with your points, but there are a few other matters that seem to me warrant attention in a NAPLAN conversation:<br /><br />1. NAPLAN starts at Year 3. The reason is that younger children were not thought capable of handling the mechanics of marking multiple choice questions, but this is akin to looking for lost keys under a lamp post. The sensitive instructional period is in the prior years of schooling, which NAPLAN ignores.<br /><br />2. The tests are labeled "Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar, and Numeracy." However, the statistical correlations of the mean scores across the eight Australian states indicate that the tests are "all measuring the same thing." That is, I ran the correlations at Years 3 and 9 and the lowest correlation was .95--most were .97 and 98. There is no reason that the correlations at the two intervening years or at the student level are any different. <br /><br />3. NAPLAN results are sensitive to geo/bio/social differences of students but not to the substance and structure of instruction. The results, accordingly, are used to try to "eliminate geo/bio/social gaps" rather than to deal with the instruction that produces and maintains the "gaps."<br /><br />4. The NAPLAN reports to parents have no implications for future instruction. irrespective of where the student's scores fall on the "bands." Comparisons with the "nation" and the student's "school" may be motivational, but they beg the question of the student's current instructional status and future instruction.<br /><br />NAPLAN is typical of what has become known as "standardized achievement testing" at primary and middle school grades. Are there alternative operational orientations? Yes, there are, but that's a whole nother conversation.<br /><br /><br /><br />Dick Schutzhttp://ssrn.com/author=1199505noreply@blogger.com