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This week, more than 80,000 Year 9 students in NSW will sit the NAPLAN tests in reading, writing and numeracy under challenging new benchmarks established under the NSW Government’s Stronger HSC Standards in 2016.
The HSC minimum standard – which students will be required to meet in order to receive the HSC from 2020 – is set at a level of literacy and numeracy that will support students in meeting the academic requirements of their HSC subjects, and day-to-day life after school.
Under the changes, most students will demonstrate the minimum standard by passing new, short online reading, writing and numeracy tests in the lead up to the HSC.
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) CEO, David de Carvalho, said that some advanced Year 9 students will achieve a Band 8 result in one or more of their reading, writing and numeracy tests this week.
“This is a fantastic result and shows they are already at the minimum standard we expect for the HSC in one or more areas,” de Carvalho said in a statement today.
“But I want to assure all Year 9 students that you will have the opportunity to sit your HSC exams regardless of your NAPLAN results. You have three more years of learning, and many more opportunities to reach the standard by the HSC.”
NESA modelling suggests the majority of Year 9 students will pre-qualify for the HSC minimum standard in at least one of the three areas via the upcoming NAPLAN tests, and that the vast majority will demonstrate the HSC minimum standard in all three areas by Year 12.
However, Don Carter, a senior lecturer in English education at UTS and a former English inspector with the Board of Studies, told the ABC he has reservations about Year 9 students being judged against a Year 12 standard.
“I think there's a real danger that we are setting them up for failure,” he said.
“The education of a child is a continuum and we should be developing those skills in a gradual way, not lumping on these students a standard in Year 9 so they can pre-qualify for a Year 12 exam.”
Carter warned that students may feel “punch drunk” by the time they get to their HSC.
“We have got to remember that these students in Year 9 are 14-year-olds … they don't need the burden of yet another test and a test that's leading to a bigger test in Year 12,” he said.
The new reading, writing and numeracy tests: Key points
- Students will have two opportunities a year to pass them in Years 10, 11 and 12 and will be able to take them for a few years after they leave school.
- Students don’t have to pass all three tests at once. Students will decide with their teachers when they are ready to attempt each test.
- Once a student passes each online test they don’t have to sit it again.
- The online tests are adaptive which means students will be asked questions appropriate to their skill level. This improves the student’s test experience, decreasing stress associated with being asked questions beyond one’s capability
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