Is It Important to Prepare for NAPLAN

Australian children have been assessed in four main categories as part of the NAPLAN program, that is, years 3,5,7, and 9, administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The following national outcome-based educational standards are used to evaluate student achievements in 

• Reading 
•  Writing 
•  Language Conventions 

NAPLAN does give schools, educational authorities, and governments a picture of whether Australian students are attaining required standards in reading and numeracy, even though it is understood that NAPLAN does not replace continuing assessments and teacher monitoring of student development. 

Appreciating the importance of NAPLAN 

Students are developing and refining reading and comprehension abilities as they prepare for the NAPLAN preparation. Their vocabulary is growing, they are improving their spelling and writing, and they are learning how to punctuate and use language correctly. Additionally, they are advancing their logical, problem-solving, and numeracy abilities. 

According to a poll, 85% of parents believe that reading and 77% believe that numeracy will be crucial for jobs in the future. These talents still have worth even while they are being challenged. 

NAPLAN preparation promotes familiarity and confidence. 

The questions on NAPLAN are considerably different from those students often see on exams. Answering multiple-choice questions requires the ability to use reasoning and the process of elimination. Additionally, time management abilities must be learned because they are not natural. 

Through NAPLAN test preparation, students gain an awareness of the test’s structure, comfort with it, and confidence in their ability to respond to the questions. Even though most students dislike the test. Our survey found that 70% of them felt that studying for it was beneficial. 

Preparation helps kids feel less stressed about taking examinations. Students are less prone to fear the unknown if they are aware of the kind of questions they will be asked and the abilities they must show. The idea is to provide kids feedback on their NAPLAN test preparation attempts and encouragement to do better, rather than merely exposing them to instances of NAPLAN questions. 

NAPLAN is a fantastic chance to discuss feelings with your child. 

Instead of only concentrating on the outcomes, NAPLAN preparation involves interacting with your kid about how they approach the test. The test is a fantastic opportunity to discuss with your child how they cope with anxiety and possibly to provide some instances of your struggles. This teaches your child that stress is a natural part of life and does not always prevent them from giving their best effort. 

Why is NAPLAN preparation so crucial? 

  NAPLAN offers advantages despite any criticism of the program. 

•  It is a useful way to determine if schools are meeting their learning and teaching goals and makes it easier to compare schools and states throughout Australia. 
• Of course, NAPLAN also evaluates each kid separately. It offers this national comparison so parents, instructors, and students may determine whether their kid or student is performing above or below the national norm. 
•  Second, NAPLAN offers a chance to evaluate student development and progress because the exams are over six years.  
• NAPLAN aims to make results transparent, creating an accountability system for the government and schools regarding how they distribute their teaching resources and meet the above-indicated goals. 
• NAPLAN encourages education reform. Schools and students can track their development about the national standard and pinpoint their areas of strength and growth. NAPLAN is merely one method of evaluation and reporting used over the school year; it is ultimately just a snapshot of data from a small number of examinations. 

Preparation advice 

Although it’s normal to feel worried before any test, whether you’re a student or a parent, you should be careful not to put too much pressure because of NAPLAN exams. They are created to evaluate students’ innate reading and numeracy abilities. While these abilities may be honed and improved, students cannot formally “prepare” for the tests. The examinations’ subject matter varies annually. There is an abundance of NAPLAN past papers out there. There are other excellent methods to ‘prepare’ for the examinations, even if these might be useful in helping to comprehend the format of the tests. 

Students should concentrate on ways to enhance their reading, writing, language, and numeracy abilities. You may take a few exams and mark them to determine your weak points. When such areas are found, it’s crucial to focus on them since there’s no purpose in repeating the same questions on NAPLAN past papers without allowing students to determine how to obtain the right answer the next time. 

Another helpful technique to “prepare” is to finish tiny tasks that develop reading and math abilities. Instead of “studying for NAPLAN,” the emphasis should be placed on developing these abilities. To practice the literacy abilities that the test will evaluate, kids can be encouraged to sit down, prepare, and write a creative piece for 30 to 40 minutes. It need not be a serious study assignment. 

It’s important to remember that your school will teach you these skills and prepare you as you go, so you don’t need to study for these examinations unnecessarily. Just a little bit of light preparation to calm your nerves should do the goal. 

The Final Thought 

At last, the NAPLAN assesses a student’s fundamental abilities to succeed in school. Additionally, it aids educational institutions in setting expectations for age-appropriate academic standards and benchmarks for learning. Additionally, it makes governments, schools, and educators responsible for it. These are unquestionably crucial for gauging kids’ abilities and performance levels around Australia. Education experts advise students to take these examinations, even if it is not required, so that they might receive better assistance in preparing for the outside world. By making these exams available online, the Australian education government is reimagining them to make them more relevant to future generations.