Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Lundy, the Minister representing the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth. With the sixth year of NAPLAN testing happening this week, there is a growing campaign among parents, teachers and academics to boycott NAPLAN. National rates of withdrawal from NAPLAN tests have been growing, with year 3 mathematics exam rates increasing nearly fourfold since 2008. At the same time, research by the University of Melbourne last year showed that approximately 73 per cent of teachers reported teaching to the test, at the cost of other subjects that NAPLAN does not address. My question is: is the government concerned by the level of dissatisfaction with the program while it absorbs such a large proportion of educators' time and resources?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy, or NAPLAN, is an annual assessment of students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. At is an everyday part of the school calendar and has been since 2008. NAPLAN test dates for 2013 are 14 and 16 May—so, this week—and across Australia approximately one million students will sit the test. The purpose of NAPLAN is to provide reliable, comparable information on how students, schools and school systems are performing against national standards, including national minimum standards in each of the assessed areas. 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. NAPLAN allows governments, education authorities, schools, teachers and parents to determine whether or not young Australians are meeting important education outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

All students in years 3, 5 and 7 are encouraged to participate, as I said. Although participation is not mandatory, it is pleasing to see that withdrawal rates nationally are very low. Back in 2012, for all students sitting the NAPLAN tests, the withdrawal rate was 1.5 per cent across all domains and year levels. When students do not take part in NAPLAN, the students, their parents and their teachers miss out on the opportunity to see where they are doing well and what areas they may need to work on. So we encourage full participation in the NAPLAN test process.

Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. There is evidence that NAPLAN results are being misused as entry scores for certain schools; the publication of results on the My School site has compounded the stigma around some schools' reputations; and children are showing physical symptoms of stress, and companies are even selling fish oil to concerned parents. Are these unintended consequences of the program; and, if so, is the government concerned?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no robust evidence to suggest that NAPLAN testing is causing stress to students. NAPLAN is not a high-stakes test and, while it may be high profile, there are no adverse consequences for students. While it is expected that some students will feel some stress in response to any assessment, it is likely these responses are not exclusive to NAPLAN testing.

In 2012, the Whitlam Institute released a report entitled The experience of education: the impacts of high stakes testing on school students and their families—an educator's perspective, which claims that approximately 90 per cent of respondents to the email survey stated that at least some students reported feeling stressed. The report was based on an opt-in survey sent only to union members to which three per cent of members chose to respond—three per cent. In addition, many of the survey questions appear to have been structured to elicit negative responses. So I repeat: there is no robust evidence— (Time expired)

Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that the minister has said that the government is not convinced that there are associated difficulties, as outlined, with NAPLAN, how is the government intending to consider whether this is the case, and how will it improve NAPLAN and the way the results are used to better meet its stated objectives of student performance?

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, there is no robust evidence and, having had a look at the reports, we are very confident of that. That Whitlam Institute report supports anecdotal comments about NAPLAN testing not causing undue stress. But teachers and school leaders do have a role in helping students manage those feelings of stress and should not place students under undue pressure by focusing their curriculum and teaching practices around the NAPLAN tests.

The issue with NAPLAN testing is that it is in everyone's interests to have full participation. In that way, we are able to get the strongest possible results from the NAPLAN testing process, and this allows both schools and teachers to determine which areas of learning need to be strengthened in the context of that school and that class.