NAPLAN tests
 

Anyone else got kiddies doing the tests this week?!!!

Some parents seem to be taking them very seriously, infact one mum kept her kid off school yesterday to prime him :blink:

Wonder how WA will compare to the rest of Oz... am I right in thinking this is the first year the results will be published for WA?

Any teachers out there who have opinions on how valuable these tests are?

Any parents who have a child that tells them about today... please let me know as my lad will undoubtedly say "I can't remember" when I ask him how it went :lol:

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My daughter is in year 7. She had 2 English ones today lasted about 45 mins each. She said it was quite hard, but has never really enjoyed English that much, Maths is more her thing.
I think as a parent putting pressure on them is unhelpful , Just make sure they have a good nights sleep and a bit of breakfast and wish them luck ! They can only do there best after all :)

Nicky

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Couldn't agree more :thumbup:

Really I wish they wouldn't test kids so young. We haven't made a fuss, and he didn't seem stressed.... infact he was virtually horizontal. Its the fuss other parents make that causes me to stress :lol:

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My daughter had the english one today (Year 7). She found them both ok. Think the numeracy ones are tomorrow and Thursday. I've told her as long as she does her best I'll be happy. No point getting them all uptight.

Ann :)

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Is it just year 7 in WA then? I've never heard of these tests.

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Nope. Years 3,5,7 and 9.

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And what's the betting it's an English mum who's had an older child do SATS at a competitive school in the UK ;). A primary in my old town became hysterical about the year 2 SATS, - kids crying from pressure, and the Year 6 ones were even worse. They always got high results but very unhappy kids, very pushy parents and the school would ignore the 'thickos' or normal kids as I like to call them, in fact one mother was asked to keep her year 2 child at home that day as he would pull the scores down. Thankfully the mum did. He never went back ;)

Is this a one off thing, or is it leading to a yearly event? I do hope not.

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I think it's a yearly test in those grades.

It was an aussie mum actually, but she's pretty weird :lol:

In the UK school my lad was at 10 kids ran out of the SATS test in a panic (or mass protest I liked to call it!). He was just in yr 1 so wasn't involved but it caused a huge stir.

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my son did his today also, the school gets them to practise the week before but there is no pressure put on them at all, they are told just to chill out and do their best.:thumbup:

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My Daughter did her Sats in year 6 in the U.K, loads of pressure put on her. Then she came here in year 7 and had to do them over here. Totally different, no pressure at all, very laid back. What was quite scary was that she said quite a lot of the stuff had not been covered in school here she just knew it from the U.K:confused:
Tracie

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No surprises there ;)

My son's teacher has chosen this week to have dental treatment and is away every day :sneaky:

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I always told my kids that they didn't have to worry about sats because they were testing the school not the children;)

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So in effect the teacher is saying to the kids 'don't worry, don't stress, just a few tests, and I can't give you the answers anyway'? ;) Sorry, just playing devils advocate :sneaky:

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I think it might be interesting to see how the States compare - I have the impression that Qld education is behind that in Victoria so am interested to see if that comes out in the test results. My daughter (yr 5) was a little bit nervous before but came out from school quite relaxed - I think good teachers/parents will ensure kids don't get too stressed -

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I am a Deputy Head of English at a private school in Brisbane, and I've got to say that these tests are just a snapshot in time really. They reflect the performance of the kids who sit them on a certain day, that's all. Sadly, this is what happens when you leave education in the hands of politicians!

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My class has been revising this for a week. One teacher actually realised she had failed to teach the students measuring the area of irregular shapes. Her reply? "Oh heck, they're toast aren't they?":blink:

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:blink:

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I agree. My son came home looking grey and said he had scored zero! After a cuddle and a chat he's fine, but it aggravates me that we are put in this situation. Point scoring exercise at the hands of others. I am half tempted to keep him at home and have a few nice days together! He definitely has picked up on the tension of others....as I said before... I really think these tests are a waste of time.

Another poster mentioned that any teacher worth their weight knows where each kid is at- they are right IMHO.

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I totally agree with Scotty Dog. Exams are the worst form of assessment and only serve to educate the Department to enable them to make impressive looking graphs and tables.

The whole child should be assessed, throughout the scholastic year, not within 50 minutes on a Tuesday morning :frown:

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I design the curriculum for Years 7,8 and 9 at my school (private system), and while we have to do the tests I tell the staff that they are under no circumstancesto stress the kids out by over-preparing them. In my experience, you are better off telling them to have a decent crack and letting them go. Over-preparation is as bad as the under-preparation some posters have mentioned here, in terms of psychological damage to the kids (who are, after all, the reason we are in the job)!

You are dead-on when you say a good teacher knows where their kids are. Some of the anecdotal stories I am hearing about teachers taking time off, saying that the kids are "toast" beggar belief!:confused:

Surely they are aware of the damage they are causing? Suffice to say, they wouldn't last long if I got hold of them:frown:

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You are also bang-on when you say exams are a blunt instrument, taken on their own as a guide.

Ideally, a balanced curriculum would not only test under exam conditions, but in group work (written and oral) and through home assignments that are open-ended in nature. Research assignments/problem-solving tasks work well, as often parents can lend a helping hand without doing the work for the kids (who hopefully are stimulated by the material anyway). Politicians have to realise that they are actually fairly unimportant in the educational schem of things, as the triangular relationship between school, student and parents is of paramount importance. If one side becomes weaker, the whole thing goes......these tests won't help matters, in this respect, as parents blame teachers for their kids' poor performances, teachers get defensive or cynical in preparing/ teaching to tests to cover their arses and kids get torn between two powerful, competing forces, attempting to please both and satisfying neither.

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You have to wonder ay?! Why would a teacher do this?

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Ahhh, but you sound like a nice Principal!! What happens when you get one like mine who is not quite so understanding and is desperate to have his school performing better than last year?;)

You are quite right about a triangular system working best within schools, but I do feel you are being rather idealistic in your views (and that is meant in no offensive manner :)). What happens when you have parents who do not support their offspring in their schoolwork? What happens where the behaviour of those students are so disruptive, group collaboration is completely out of the question for most activities? What happens when the influence of a students homelife has such a negative impact upon a child's psyche, they cannot function to an acceptable level within the classroom?

I would love to be within a school where parents support their offspring willingly and wholeheartedly. In my school, some parents cannot even be bothered to get their kids out of bed in the mornings to get them to school, let alone support them or encourage them (and those are the sober ones!)

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oi..av these..

xxxxxxxxx

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Bigger back at ya babe! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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Personally I think these type of tests are psychologically damaging. It may sound dramatic, but as a victim of the 11+ system in the south of England I speak from experience! I moved from Geordie land to London at age 10yrs and within a week of transferring schools was sitting an exam. Needless to say I failed and forever thought I was stupid. It is only now, in my 30's, that I am able to challenge the core belief that I am thick! Despite achieving academically, sometimes way beyond my friends who sailed through the 11+, I still doubt myself :unsure:

I never want my boys to feel that way.

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I'm probably idealistic because I'm not a Principal yet:lol: I'm just a Deputy Head of English at the moment, but I have to run these tests for my section of the school (Years 7 and 9) and co-ordinate the 20 or so teachers in the Department who administer them. Trust me, I would kick their arses f some of the stories I hear on here went on at our place:sneaky:

Yeah, you're right in that the triangle is the ideal. I did my time in state education in the UK, so I'm familiar with what you're saying. In a system like that, all you can do is keep chipping away and stick together as a united group of teachers. Whether it's through seige mentality (vs the boss or negligent parents) or insane enthusiasm, all you can do is present a coherent approach to the kids. Perhaps, from the sound of it, you may be the fairest and most consistent thing in their lives. In cases like that, all you can do is stand strong and hope the kids succeed despite their indifferent circumstances, thanks to your example. The psychological power of a dedicated teacher is considerable, even to the extremely disaffected. I know, having seen it as a rookie cutting my teeth around some excellent mentor teachers way back when.:D

It might be hard to maintain the faith at times, but I'm sure you came into teaching for the right reasons! Tests like NAPLAN don't help things, but they don't need to hinder things either if you approach them the right way I suppose?:unsure:

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Had 2 daughters yr 5 and 9 do the tests today, weren't stressed at all about them TG!!

Seemed OK with them, not too much pressure seems to have been applied at the school, (no nerves or pressure seemed to make it home any way)

S

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hi, it is reading tomorrow (wed) and maths on thursday.

i have 'scribed' and assisted for a child today, in his two tests (year 5). he was very calm about the tests. the school i work at hasnt made a big thing about them at all. i just said at the end to him, "well done, how do you feel about this morning". he said fine. very low key (non state school). i hope it doesnt follow the path of the SATS :(

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exactly scotty!
I have tried to impress that upon my class and their parents but they are getting so much pressure at home that i had kids in tears this morning before the language conventions test.

Even the creators of NAPLAN agree that it isnt perfect esp since each state has it's own education system and curriculum. Not to mention other differences between states. I think it is crap and puts wayyyyyyyy too much pressure on little kids.

(This test replaces the state WALNA testing previously given in Year 3,5,7,9 in WA)

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oh please!! How long has this teacher had these kids? a term! (mind you her reaction might have been a little off the wall)

I have had my kids (year 5 and 7) for a term and a few weeks, i can not possible ensure they know everything from previously years and everything that is scheduled for this year. it is only term 2, they still have 2.5 terms of this year to go.

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Well, I guess my son must be doing them then. They've not been mentioned in my house, even by my Mrs who is very on the ball about what goes on at the school.

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Maybe thats because the school hasn't made a big fuss about it, which IMHO is what should happen at every school.

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funny thing happened today- the bloody practise question answer was wrong. Seriously WTF?

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I agree, if it was England it would be "ooh, the NAPLANS are coming, better get the kids to stay in, stress out and revise for an exam that is TESTING THE SCHOOL AND NOT THE KIDS!"

Jaysus, I couldn't believe it when our friends in the UK told us their daughter was revising for SATS.

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Child number two has been sitting these... totally unphased by the school over them, in fact he sees it as a bonus because their head teacher stopped all home work (temporarily) because he doesn't want them stressed about them!

And this is a child who was becoming a uk school 'refuser'

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I have been adminstering these test this week in year 3. For all those people who think that Australian schools are way behind English schools should think again. The tests my year 3 kids have been doing here are on the same level as my year 6 kids used to do in the UK. My class have coped with them quite well thank you and are totally unstressed about them. We had some practice runs last week but have otherwise kept them so low key that the kids all forgot they were doing them this week until the time actually came.

They haven't forgotten that we're having a movie day at school on Friday though to celebrate the end of testing :lol:

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My Nieces school in the U.K ran extra classes during the Easter school break so the kids could get extra lessons in for their Sats!!!! Needless to say, my Niece did not go:frown:
Trace

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my son has been doing them this week too and is totally chilled out about them, the school has been great, havent had homework this week so they can just forget about school when they walk out the door. They are all kept in their original class rooms as going into a hall etc would stress them out. Well done school.:thumbsup:

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I have to agree. I looked at a sample paper for Yr 3 and was quite surprised!