The NT will start its transition to NAPLAN Online in 2019, following the success of testing in May 2018 when 190,000 students across six states and territories completed the online assessment.
The National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Department of Education Deputy Chief Executive Marion Guppy said the shift to NAPLAN Online was a significant initiative due to our unique circumstances including a large number of schools and students that are located in remote areas with limited internet connection.
“We want NAPLAN Online to be a positive experience for our students and schools which is why we are adopting a transitional process,” she said.
“The transition will be a staged process, with approximately 40 schools with high bandwidth internet and five schools with low or no bandwidth participating in the first stage to undertake NAPLAN Online in 2019.
“We will be working with government and non-government schools located in clusters across Alice Springs, Katherine, Palmerston and Casuarina.”
The cluster model has been developed to enable greater IT support, more accessible training options and assist schools to better connect and share information.
In order to prepare for the transition, most cluster schools will participate in either school readiness testing from 17-28 September 2018 or platform readiness testing in November 2018.
“Readiness testing provides schools with the opportunity to become familiar with the NAPLAN Online test platform and identify any technical issues they may have,” Ms Guppy said.
“This approach will enable us to better understand the online platform and be confident in the process before we transition all NT schools to NAPLAN Online in the future. “
Ms Guppy said the department was working closely with Education Services Australia and Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to develop a low and no bandwidth solution so that all students in the NT could participate in the NAPLAN Online computer-based assessment.
“The NT is heavily involved in the development of a low or no bandwidth solution because we want all of our students to have equal access to NAPLAN Online and quality education services,’’ she said.
“This is about access for everyone and that includes our students living in remote and very remote areas.
“Digital technology is changing the way we live, work and learn. It’s the same for our schools and students. Online assessments are the way of the future and we need to make sure that all of our students in the NT can be active participants.”
Readiness testing for low and no bandwidth schools will be a separate process that will occur later in 2018. A small number of Territory schools will use this platform in 2019.
Media Contact: Hayley Green - 0459 801 149