Queensland continues to deliver improved NAPLAN results

Published Wednesday, 05 August, 2015 at 12:04 PM

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Education and Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Kate Jones

Queensland has recorded some of its best results in the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test’s eight year history.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Education Kate Jones today visited Stafford State School to congratulate students and thank teachers and school staff for their dedication to improving literacy and numeracy results.

Ms Palaszczuk said today's release of the summary report showed that since NAPLAN testing started in 2008, Queensland schools have demonstrated the greatest improvement of any state or territory.

“Queensland’s 2015 test results show improvements in 16 of the 20 testing areas compared to last year’s results,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Since testing began, our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students have improved in 18 of the 20 test areas.

“Labor’s decision to introduce prep means students now start school earlier.

“Some of our best results were in Year 3 where students scored well in reading and writing while in Year 5 we saw our highest results ever in writing, spelling and numeracy. 

“The 2015 Year 7s, our first full Prep cohort, deserve special mention as they scored their best ever results in reading, spelling and numeracy. 

“These results place our Year 5 students 3rd in the nation in reading and numeracy and our Year 3s are now ranked 3rd nationally for grammar and punctuation and numeracy.” 

Ms Jones said Labor’s commitment to transition Year 7 to high school in 2015 was delivering strong results. 

“This is a group of students who had access to specialist English and Maths teachers from the start of the school year and they’ve scored their best ever results in reading, spelling and numeracy,” Ms Palaszczuk said. 

“The 2015 Year 7s are also Queensland’s first full Prep cohort, so we are seeing Labor’s decisions to drive education outcomes delivering results. 

“In fact, both Year 7s and Year 9s performed particularly well in numeracy, coming second in the nation-wide rankings.” 

Ms Jones said NAPLAN results provided a valuable snapshot of literacy and numeracy standards across the state and were a valuable tool in helping teachers and parents identify areas that need greater attention. 

“This year, Queensland released individual student results to parents earlier than ever before, allowing them to identify strengths and areas needing improvement sooner,” she said. 

“NAPLAN results help schools identify the areas that need improvement, review teaching methods and implement programs to boost student outcomes.” 

The 2015-16 State Budget includes a record $9 billion investment in education, including $152 million over three years for an extra 875 teachers to ensure students receive individual attention and support. 

Further highlights for Queensland in the 2015 NAPLAN summary report include: 

  • Nine out of 10 students now achieve at or above the national standard across all year levels in reading, spelling, grammar and punctuation; and numeracy
  • Queensland’s improvements continue to outpace the nation’s
  • Queensland’s average scores are near the national average in all domains
  • Year 3 and 5 students continue to improve with results in all test areas higher than in 2014

 The national summary report of 2015 NAPLAN results will be released today by the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The report will be available online at www.naplan.edu.au 

NAPLAN results for each school will be published today on the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) website at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au

Media contact: 3719 7000