After facing criticism, NAPLAN is set to be reviewed by a panel of education experts, looking into whether the literacy and numeracy test meets the needs of schools and students.
The review is being led by the governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, with a panel featuring Emeritus Professor William Louden, Emeritus Professor Barry McGaw and Professor Claire Wyatt-Smits.
They will assess whether NAPLAN is accurate at measuring students’ proficiency in reading, writing and numeracy, and whether students are being appropriately assessed, as well as the impact on schools and the community.
The review will also consider how online testing can be improved, after tens of thousands of students were forced to resit parts of the test as a result of internet connection issues.
The test has been taken by students across the country in grades 3 and 5, and years 7 and 9 since 2008. Now over a decade on, Victorian Education Minister James Merlino says it is “common sense to review it”.
“The review may lead to significant change or it may recommend scrapping NAPLAN altogether and replacing it with something new, but we will always need some form of standardised testing,” Mr Merlino said.
The panel is expected to provide an interim report to the national education council in December, with a final report to follow in June 2020.