THOUSANDS of students from across the region are this morning preparing for what for many will be the first major examinations of their school lives.
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They are among more than one million students across the nation sitting this year’s NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) tests, starting today and wrapping up on Thursday.
Students from years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be tested on writing and language conventions today, before the reading test tomorrow and numeracy exams on Thursday.
At Carinya Christian School about 170 students will sit the exams, which assist schools and parents to place children’s performance in a school and national context. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is responsible for NAPLAN.
ACARA chief executive officer Robert Randall said the tests were also an opportunity for government and education authorities to better understand how schools, school systems and the nation were going in these important areas.
“The tests provide valuable data to support good teaching and learning and school improvement,” he said.
“The tests are now a feature of the annual school calendar ... and schools have good programs in place to support students undertaking the tests.”
Carinya’s head of middle school Peter Weary said the past few months had been spent showing students what they could expect from the exams, but more importantly giving them some examination techniques, particularly the younger students without any formal testing experience.
Students sitting the Year 9 tests this year were actually the first group of children to take part in the inaugural NAPLAN tests in 2008.
NAPLAN results will be available later in the year.