Say No to NAPLAN

A series of two-page papers, explaining the many problems with NAPLAN

These papers were compiled by the “Say NO to NAPLAN” group. Feel free to copy and distribute them with appropriate referencing.

• Set 1:   Papers 1-10
• Set 2:   Papers 11-18

Also, see a letter of support from 140 academics across the country.

PARENTS:  Your child does NOT have to do NAPLAN.
Download a flyer and a letter you can sign for the principal:  Flyer+parent letter

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Let's topple the King and Kong of education: NAPLAN and MySchool

12 December 2018

Adrian Piccoli, The Age, 30 Nov 2018.  NAPLAN and the publishing of school-by-school reslts on the MySchool website started out as relatively harmless, but has turned into a wrecking ball for Australian education.  Read the article here...more»

Where you live is determining your school's NAPLAN score

12 December 2018

The Age, 27 Nov 2018.  New analysis by Macquarie University has found that the area in which a student goes to school is one of the clearest predictors of Year 5 NAPLAN reading scores, painting a stark picture of Australia's socio-educational divide.  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN stress led to Year 5 student's attempted suicide

27 September 2018

ABC News, 24 Sept 18.  An ACT inquiry into NAPLAN was told of a Year 5 student's attempted suicide. Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN results delayed over concerns data could be invalid

8 August 2018

ABC News, 8 Aug 2018.  ACARA assured us that the online results and test paper results would be comparable, but that assurance is now under question.  The mess continues!  Read article here...more»

NAPLAN social security media security lapse to be investigated

17 May 2018

The West Australian, 17 May 2018.  Photos of the topic set for the writing assessment were posted on social media.  Read the article here...more»

Let's abandon NAPLAN – we can do better

16 May 2018

The Conversation, 16 May 2018.  With calls for a review, many experts are calling the future of NAPLAN into question.  Read the article here.  (The warnings we placed on this site 10 years ago have come true.)...more»

Drumbeat to ditch NAPLAN is growing louder – and rightly so

6 May 2018

Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2018.  After 10 years, virtually everyone who actually understands NAPLAN opposes it.  NAPLAN has not achieved its aims and damaged education in the process.  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN being used, abused and must be urgently dumped

5 May 2018

Sydney Morning Herald, 3 May 2018.  NSW Minister Stokes will push for the urgent dumping of NAPLAN.  Read the article here...more»

Problems with NAPLAN writing test

25 April 2018

Attention Teachers in NSW:  Free public lecture by world leader in writing assessment, Dr Les Perelman.  Friday 4 May, 6 pm.  Bookings essential.  Download flyer...more»

7 reasons people no longer want to be teachers

19 April 2018

The Conversation, 16 April 2018.  There has been an alarming drop in first preference applications for teacher preparation courses.  There are at least 7 reasons why people don't want to be teachers any more.  Read the article here...more»

Victoria joins push for a review of NAPLAN

12 April 2018

The Age, 11 Apr 2018.  Education Minister James Merlino joins NSW, Qld and SA in calls for a review of NAPLAN.  Merlino has said, "There are too many issues surfacing and it has a detrimental impact on our education system."  Read the article here...more»

Rob Stokes (NSW Edn Minister) backs highly critical report on NAPLAN

11 April 2018

Sydney Morning Herald, 9 April 2018.  Education Minister backs report saying that the NAPLAN writing task is severely defective.  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN's writing test is 'bizarre'

9 April 2018

Dr Les Perelman, ABC News, 9 Apr 2018.  One of the world's leading education experts says NAPLAN writing tests are absurd and are turning Australian children into bad writers.  Read the article here...more»

Just admit it: NAPLAN is a complete failure

24 March 2018

The Daily Telegraph, 20 April 2015.  It's worth re-posting this article about the complete failure of NAPLAN. It fails the economic justification test (costing around $100 million a year). It fails good pedagogical standards. It fails the curriculum. It fails our students.  Read the article here...more»

Time to drop NAPLAN? We shouldn't treat school like a competition.

21 March 2018

Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Education and Early Childhood, 21 March 2018.  Education ministers around Australia are looking at whether NAPLAN really is doing more harm than good.  Read the article here...more»

Principals call for a full and independent review of NAPLAN

12 March 2018

The Australian Government Primary Principals Association (AGPPA) call on Federal and State governments to commit to a full and independent review of NAPLAN and the MySchool website.  Read the article here...more»

NSW Minister scraps controversial Year 9 NAPLAN policy

22 February 2018

Sydney Morning Herald, 22 Feb 2018.  Great news.  Another chink in the NAPLAN armour.  More and more people are coming to understand the problems with NAPLAN.  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN testing faces scrutiny as education ministers push for changes

15 February 2018

ABC News, 15 Feb 2018.  Some education ministers are pushing for changes to NAPLAN, believing it has strayed from its original purpose.  Data is prized over potential, and obsessive reporting and league tables were leading parents to make errors of judgment.  Read the article here...more»

Experts slam NAPLAN, call for federal review

7 February 2018

Sarah Duggan, au.educationhq.com, 6 Feb 2018.  Experts have joined Queensland's Education Minister in calls for a federal review of NAPLAN, casting doubt over the validity and usefulness of the standardised test.  Read the article here...more»

What kind of children will we get when we focus on performance rather than learning?

23 August 2017

Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University, 23 August 2017.   In the Whitlam Institute's latest Perspectives paper, Prof Justine Grønbaek Pors explains research showing that standardised testing and educational rankings continue to have adverse effects on children and young people.  NAPLAN has moved us no closer to improved outcomes but has contributed...more»

Arts-based approaches to teaching literacy

7 August 2017

EduResearch Matters, 7 August 2017.  The focus on formal, regulated programs in reading and writing is having an enormous negative impact. There has been a narrowing of focus and a preoccupation with test results.  Read the article here...more»

Why don't journalists question the validity of NAPLAN data?

5 August 2017

David Hornsby, 5 August 2017....more»

PISA scores decline after NAPLAN is introduced

5 August 2017

David Hornsby, 5 August 2017.  The attached graph shows that PISA scores declined from the time NAPLAN testing began in 2008.  A coincidence, or another sign that we now teach to the NAPLAN test rather than the curriculum?...more»

The dark side of NAPLAN

4 August 2017

EduResearch Matters, 3 August 2017.  Has the test replaced the curriculum?  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN is ten years old - so how is the nation faring?

2 August 2017

The Conversation, 2 August 2017.  Why is anyone surprised that NAPLAN results hardly change?  Students get better by being taught; not by being tested.  Use the money for teacher professional learning instead of wasting it on unreliable tests once a year.  Read the article here and also see the NAPLAN...more»

Private companies accessing student data fuels commercialisation fears

4 July 2017

The Age, 4 July 2017.  Private companies are gaining unprecedented access to students' data, drafting NAPLAN questions and producing teaching and learning materials, prompting fears that businesses are dictating the focus of public education and making millions.  (And the tests have not improved learning - surprise, surprise!)...more»

The silent tragedy of NAPLAN, students reported in misleading bands

21 March 2017

Tulip Education Research Blog, 16 March 2017.  NAPLAN reporting of student abilities is unreliable.  The certainty of the "dots within the bands" is not matched by the maths. NAPLAN results don't include confidence intervals because then it would not be possible to locate a student in a particular band.  Read the article...more»

Setting up children to fail

22 February 2017

RIP IT UP Reading, 22 Feb 2017.  A view of NAPLAN from a parent, educator and PhD candidate.  Read the article here  ...more»

Cold Distant Data: the great political deception and money waster

20 February 2017

Protecting Childhood, 19 Feb 2017.  Data collection in schools to fulfil national standardised testing requirements is a wrong education driver.  Stop the paralysis by analysis!  Read the article here...more»

NAPLAN prepares us for neither the real world nor Trump

5 February 2017

The Age, 4 Feb 2017.  Trump instinctively knows that clearly set-out arguments don't persuade.  The method of argument required for students to succeed at NAPLAN doesn't work. We are going to need new techniques of telling the truth.  Read the article here...more»