This week, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests.

While it is a tool that is used by Federal and State Governments for student tracking and achievement, we feel it will never be able to show some of the other things that make students unique. It certainly will not show:

• Their ability to make a friend laugh when they are having a hard day.
• How students emptied their piggy banks to give to those who are less fortunate.
• How they collaborate with their peers and make everyone in a group feel valued.
• Their willingness to take academic and social risks.
• The deep empathy they display for their friends, peers and complete strangers.
• How students have learned to participate in a discussion, listen to others and build off of their ideas.
• Our student’s determination to stand up for what is right, even if they are the only one standing.
• Their creativity and how they share it with themselves and others.
• What curious thinkers, creative problem-solvers and fierce friends our students are.

NAPLAN does not show how our students commit to our values of Respect, Resilience and Relationships. Even though the test doesn’t treat these things like they matter, please know at CYS we believe that THEY MATTER.

The NAPLAN gives a point in time look at a student’s Literacy and Numeracy results. It does not gauge how they are going with their programs or progress against the Australian Curriculum standards or General Capabilities.