From http://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/naplan-online/naplan-online.html
In May of every year, students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 take part in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). NAPLAN was first introduced in 2008 and has become a routine part of the school calendar in Australia.
NAPLAN,
which is part of the National Assessment Program (NAP), is how
governments, education authorities and schools can determine whether
young Australians are reaching important educational goals.
It
is anticipated that from 2016, students undertaking NAPLAN will no
longer complete tests using pen and paper. All students will complete
NAPLAN tests using a computer or another electronic device, such as a
tablet.
Moving NAPLAN into a computer-based, or
‘online’, environment brings many new opportunities for students and
teachers that are often limited or not possible with paper-based tests.
The benefits of online assessments
Some of the main benefits of students taking part in NAPLAN online include:
- Assessments will use a tailored test design. Students will answer an initial set of questions and then be directed to subsequent sets of questions based on the accuracy of their responses. Students with a high number of questions correct will be directed to more challenging questions. Students who have a lower level of accuracy in the initial set of questions will be directed to questions that are less challenging.
- Tailored testing will provide teachers and schools with more targeted and detailed information on their students’ performance on the tests.
- Use of a computer-based environment provides the opportunity to broaden the scope of the assessments.
- Delivery of assessments online will significantly reduce the time it takes to provide feedback to schools, students and parents.
- ACARA research into online assessment has shown that students have engaged well with computer-based tests.
As technology develops, ACARA aims to further
refine the delivery platform to best use the available technology to
provide increasingly sophisticated assessments.
