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<p>The review, initiated by the NSW, Queensland, Victorian and ACT governments, proposes modifying NAPLAN and renaming it the Australian National Standardised Assessment (ANSA).</p>
<p>The proposal to maintain a standardised test has been criticised by teachers’ unions across the nation with the NSW Teachers Federation concerned the new test will just be more of the same.</p>
<p>A Queensland teacher has however defended the program and declared the review recommendations hold some promise for the future.</p>
<p>“I think what NAPLAN was originally supposed to do was a good idea – where you have a point in time every two years to find out where kids’ literacy and numeracy is at – that is a really good thing,” she said.</p>
<p>“However what schools do, because they have these ranking systems, they spend months teaching to the tests which is not a good idea.”</p>
<p>Included in the 180-page report is a recommendation that when the results are published it is emphasised they do not compare statistically similar schools.</p>
<p>“It is helpful data but using it to rank schools … I don’t think that is helpful,” the teacher said.</p>
<p>“If schools would stop teaching to the tests and would just administer the tests, it would be awesome.”</p>
<h3>Key recommendations of the review include:</h3>
<ul>
<li>expanding the subjects tested to include science, engineering, technology and critical and creative thinking, in addition to English and mathematics</li>
<li>continuing to test students in years 3, 5 and 7 and moving the current testing of students in Year 9 to Year 10</li>
<li>moving the test forward from May to as early as possible in the year</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>providing results within one week to better inform teaching and learning for the rest of the year.</li>
</ul>

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