Weighing a Pig Doesn’t Make it Fatter
I am reminded of the three golden rules of measurement:
No measurement without recording
No recording without analysis
No analysis without action.
This week we received our 2023 NAPLAN results for Years 3 and 5. Our results were extremely pleasing!
NAPLAN is currently undertaken by Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 students in Australia. Results are reported using ‘Proficiency Standards’, which describe what students are expected to know and should be able to do in literacy and numeracy at the time of NAPLAN.
Students’ results are measured against 4 levels of proficiency:
- Exceeding: The student’s result exceeded expectations at the time of testing.
- Strong: The student’s result met challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
- Developing: The student’s result indicated that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
- Needs additional support: The student’s result indicated that they did not achieve the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.
Mosman Prep 2023 NAPLAN Results
Year 3
Numeracy - 100% Strong or Exceeding
Writing - 100% Strong or Exceeding
Reading - 91% Strong or Exceeding
Grammar - 91% Strong or Exceeding
Spelling - 82% Strong or Exceeding (18% Developing)
Year 5
Numeracy - 100% Strong or Exceeding
Writing - 100% Strong or Exceeding
Reading - 91% Strong or Exceeding
Grammar - 91% Strong or Exceeding
Spelling - 82% Strong or Exceeding (18% Developing)
Despite our excellent results, it is important to keep NAPLAN in perspective, as it is just one measure of assessment on one day. In fact, our 2022 MGG Parent Survey highlighted that, in regard to reasons for choosing a school, our parents ranked NAPLAN results 18th out of 21.
Data collected from a broad range of assessments (formal, observational and formative) allows us to identify student needs, provide a more targeted teaching and learning program, and improve student outcomes. At Mosman Prep, we use a purpose-built educational database to store, analyse, and utilise data in powerful ways to target the needs of individuals and cohorts. The database also ensures that a student’s journey is tracked carefully over time, and that important data gathered in the past can be accessed and used alongside current data.
“For too many teachers, it seems a badge of valour to dismiss the evidence of progress from previous teachers and thus every time a student comes into a new class or school, there is a ‘hold’ on his or her progress while the new teacher reassesses for his or her purposes the level of this new student.” (John Hattie, 2012)
Using research and data to inform teaching and learning is critical. We are committed to evidence-based boys’ education pedagogy, and the use of data to inform targeted teaching and learning.
Regarding assessments such as NAPLAN, some schools focus too heavily on preparing their students for NAPLAN at the expense of preparing them for life.
Our boys require solid foundational skills, knowledge and understanding, alongside future proofing strengths in areas such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and technology. They need a curriculum that equips them to be flexible, resourceful, and innovative as they prepare to embrace unknown challenges and the likelihood of multiple future careers.
We are committed to not ‘over weighing our boys’ or being assessment driven, but rather strategically collecting, storing, and analysing data. By doing so, we can ensure targeted teaching, improvement of student outcomes, strengthening of foundational skills, while also developing attributes that will inspire our boys' learning journeys and prepare them to embrace the future.
Peter Grimes | Headmaster
