ACARA welcomes the move to better and faster assessment
The Chairman of ACARA, Professor Barry McGaw AO, welcomed today’s announcement by the Commonwealth Minister for Education, the Hon. Minister Pyne, of a commitment from the Australian Government of $24.7 million to move NAPLAN online.
The Chairman of ACARA, Professor Barry McGaw AO, welcomed today’s announcement by the Commonwealth Minister for Education, the Hon. Minister Pyne, of a commitment from the Australian Government of $24.7 million to move NAPLAN online.
“ACARA
looks forward to moving NAPLAN online as soon as possible – to provide
better assessment, more precise results and faster turnaround of
information,” said Professor McGaw.
“When
students take NAPLAN online, they will get test items that are matched
to their level of performance. They will not get items that are too
difficult or too easy for them,” Professor McGaw said. “The computer
will tailor the test to the students’ achievement level by marking their
responses as they work through the items in the tests.”
“The
same NAPLAN achievement scale will be used, but students’ achievements
will be measured more precisely, particularly for students in the high-
and low-achieving categories, and results will be returned much more
quickly than at present. NAPLAN test items will reflect the Australian
Curriculum in English and mathematics, meaning that the best preparation
for NAPLAN is for teachers to focus on teaching the curriculum.”
Professor
McGaw said, “In recent research, funded by the Australian Government
Department of Education, ACARA confirmed that online delivery of tests,
tailored by the computer to students’ level of achievement, works well
and is more engaging for students“.
