Indeed. Any use of statistics must always come with a caveat describing its limitations. Otherwise, we may end up making inferences based on data that really doesn’t really tell us much at all.
I completely agree. One of the biggest concerns is that NAPLAN has increasingly shifted from being an assessment intended to inform learning to a tool used for accountability and comparison. As O'Neill (2013) argues, the secondary uses of assessment, such as ranking schools, can create perverse incentives, where the focus shifts from fostering meaningful learning to improving measurable outcomes.
When schools and teachers are judged primarily on test results, it is understandable that attention is directed towards what is measured, even if those measures provide only a partial picture of educational quality. This risks narrowing curriculum, distorting teaching priorities, and reinforcing simplistic narratives about what is happening in classrooms. If we genuinely want to improve education, we need to be cautious about drawing broad conclusions from a single assessment and instead use multiple sources of evidence that reflect the complexity of teaching and learning.
Thanks Kristy. Yes, NAPLAN has very much taken on its own form and purposes since its inception. Have you by any chance read National Testing in Schools? Radhika Gorur has an excellent chapter on this.
What is said is that NAPLAN has become ingrained in the teacher psyche as representing "good" teachers and schools, it's so powerful and considering its persistence over the years it has come to redefine how we determine whether we're doing things right or not.
Sadly, I just don't see that it's been worth it. Evidence indicates that all it has done has contributed to increasing segregation, along with increasing policy impositions, within schools.
Please share the Maraget Wu paper, "Interpreting NAPLAN for the layperson" with any colleagues you think might benefit from it!
Great idea to get us thinking about these inappropriate uses of the test before the results drop! and Margaret's criticisms of the use of this information are sound. i've never heard anyone successfully rebut her
With regard to NAPLAN, I like to remind people of the old saying, "There are lies, dammed lies and statistics."
The problem with statistics is you can present them to prove any particular point you want to make.
Indeed. Any use of statistics must always come with a caveat describing its limitations. Otherwise, we may end up making inferences based on data that really doesn’t really tell us much at all.
I completely agree. One of the biggest concerns is that NAPLAN has increasingly shifted from being an assessment intended to inform learning to a tool used for accountability and comparison. As O'Neill (2013) argues, the secondary uses of assessment, such as ranking schools, can create perverse incentives, where the focus shifts from fostering meaningful learning to improving measurable outcomes.
When schools and teachers are judged primarily on test results, it is understandable that attention is directed towards what is measured, even if those measures provide only a partial picture of educational quality. This risks narrowing curriculum, distorting teaching priorities, and reinforcing simplistic narratives about what is happening in classrooms. If we genuinely want to improve education, we need to be cautious about drawing broad conclusions from a single assessment and instead use multiple sources of evidence that reflect the complexity of teaching and learning.
Thanks Kristy. Yes, NAPLAN has very much taken on its own form and purposes since its inception. Have you by any chance read National Testing in Schools? Radhika Gorur has an excellent chapter on this.
What is said is that NAPLAN has become ingrained in the teacher psyche as representing "good" teachers and schools, it's so powerful and considering its persistence over the years it has come to redefine how we determine whether we're doing things right or not.
Sadly, I just don't see that it's been worth it. Evidence indicates that all it has done has contributed to increasing segregation, along with increasing policy impositions, within schools.
Please share the Maraget Wu paper, "Interpreting NAPLAN for the layperson" with any colleagues you think might benefit from it!
Great idea to get us thinking about these inappropriate uses of the test before the results drop! and Margaret's criticisms of the use of this information are sound. i've never heard anyone successfully rebut her
Thanks Ben, I find it surprising that her work seems to have fallen through the cracks. Her criticisms as you say are sound.