NAPLAN Results: what they mean and what you can do about them

It’s that time of year again!

NAPLAN results are out, much to the excitement or dread of parents and students alike. However, there’s nothing to fear regardless of the results. 

NAPLAN goes off a “no pass, no fail” system, meaning that no matter the result, your child has not failed. Many parents tend to stress about and over-prepare for NAPLAN when in reality it is merely to check where your child is currently at with their understanding.

Now let’s see these results…

Oh would you look at that, ‘Exceeding’ and ‘Strong’ in all areas.

Great! You are the proud parent of a child genius, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, in reality, only 13% of Year 3 students and 15.7% of Year 5 students achieved an average ‘Exceeding’ proficiency. There is nothing to worry about if your child is not in this range, most kids (87.3% of Year 3 and 89.1% of Year 5 students) sit in the ‘Developing’ and above proficiency level.

If your child performs well in NAPLAN that is a fabulous sign. However, these scores can only tell you so much. 

A NAPLAN result is just one data point, not a complete assessment of a child’s learning ability and there is a large measurement error (12%) for individual students. Two children may have similar scores but this doesn’t tell us their underlying needs. NAPLAN scores can be unreliable, especially for diagnosing specific learning difficulties or causes for poor results.

If your child performs poorly in writing, reading or numeracy, there could be several reasons for this which we can’t find out from a single result. Reasons could include: systemic school factors, learning difficulties/disabilities, student attitude and many more, but identifying the exact reason can be difficult.

Some questions to think about when reviewing your child’s NAPLAN results are:

• Is this consistent with their everyday work? — If it is, you might want to seek some external support. If not, then it could be a matter of nerves on the day.

• Is there a pattern across areas? — Is there a recurring issue they are struggling with across all assessable areas?

• Where specifically are they having difficulty? — If you can identify the specific area of struggle, it is much easier to find strategies to address the learning issue.

Once you answer these questions you can start to see what the next best steps for your child’s learning journey might be.

Some kids may need targeted support, others, a greater challenge. Some may need a change in learning strategy if regular schooling isn’t cutting it. Other kids may need further assessment to find the path that’s right for them and some may need no additional intervention.

If you want to further your child’s learning experience, here are some Learning and Development consultants you can reach out to, to help your child find the learning path that is best for them:

• Talk to your child’s School Teacher or Learning Support/Literacy Coordinator — This can provide a base understanding of areas that your child might need more support in. Together you can devise a plan in and outside of the classroom to enhance your child’s abilities.

  
  

• Book an Independent Educational & Skill Consultation — This is a good opportunity if you want a broader look at your child’s higher-order thinking, literacy or learning habits. An independent consultation offers a fresh, objective perspective. Here at Beyond the Book we break down the underlying cognitive and learning patterns behind your child’s test results and create a tailored roadmap for home and school.

  
  

• Speak to an Educational Psychologist or Speech Pathologist — If you think your child is struggling with learning difficulties it might be wise to seek out the advice of an educational psychologist or speech pathologist. They can help optimise teaching to support your child’s learning or tackle underlying issues that may be impacting their education.

  
  

• Chat to your child’s GP or Paediatrician — This is who you should approach first if you think your child may be struggling with learning difficulties. These professionals can act as a referral gateway to others who can assess your child in a more specialised way.

Sitting down and reviewing your child’s NAPLAN results shouldn’t be a source of stress. If you would like help understanding what your child’s results mean, we’re here to help. We will investigate the patterns underneath learning struggles, identify possible causes and help you decide the appropriate response. For a consultation, book here.