Education Minister Grace Grace announced a Queensland review of national literacy and numeracy test last year,following concerns from parents,principals and teachers with the test.
Education Minister Grace Grace said the government wanted to strike the right balance,with information gained from NAPLAN used for the right purpose while addressing any unintended consequences.AAP Image/ Glenn Hunt
The NAPLAN test,in place nationally since 2008,includes standardised tests for students in Years 3,5,7 and 9.
As part of the Queensland review,more than 7500 parents were quizzed on their perception of the test,with about 55 per cent of parents saying their children were anxious or very anxious about NAPLAN.
Almost 70 per cent of parents believed schools spent too much time preparing for NAPLAN while more than 60 per cent said teachers taught to the test.
Parents said preparing for the test itself produced stress and anxiety by sending a message that NAPLAN was a"high-stakes"assessment and how they performed had a serious consequence for them or their school.
Parents said they were often told by teachers than NAPLAN was not worth doing because it was"not a good test",with one parent indicating a teacher described it as an"epic waste of time".
Many parents of Year 3 students believed children aged eight were too young to cope with the test and endure the anxiety.
According to 2017 data,about 4.5 per cent of Year 3 students and 6.5 per cent of Year 9 students were withdrawn from the test,either due to a suggestion from the school or a request from the parent.
Many parents believed schools asked some low-performing children to stay home on test day to improve NAPLAN results and protect the school's reputation.
Many parents also believed the time lag between the test date and receiving their child's NAPLAN report diminished the value of the results as it was too late for feedback or intervention.
Most students surveyed made negative comments about the value of NAPLAN,with almost a quarter of comments indicating it was"a waste of time"and said they"didn't try"as it was not on their report card.
Ms Grace said concerns were raised with her about NAPLAN every week since she became the Education Minister in December 2017.
"The Palaszczuk government's evaluation identified that NAPLAN had played a role in supporting improvements in Queensland's educational outcomes,"she said.
"However,many parents reported that testing caused their child to experience anxiety and stress,that there were a range of unintended consequences stemming from the now high-stakes nature of the testing and that there were differing expectations about the purpose of NAPLAN.
"Educators expressed concern at the growing amount of time and pressure in preparing for testing,examples of teaching being tailored to NAPLAN,resulting in a narrowing of the curriculum and that NAPLAN data was being misinterpreted as the sole indicator of a school's performance."
Ms Grace said the review canvassed the views of more than 7500 parents and carers,3000 students,5800 teachers and principals and 200 stakeholders,with more than 80 per cent of schools participating.
The Queensland government will continue to advocate for a broad national review of NAPLAN,with a strong focus on writing,and develop an information package for parents and schools about the test.
The government supported a move to online testing but said particular caution would be taken in reporting results to ensure schools were not disadvantaged.
Ms Grace said if children were experiencing anxiety about NAPLAN,one solution could be to spread testing over several days.
“These are some of the things that we want to talk nationally about to make NAPLAN a better fit,” she said.