From the Assistant Principal

NAPLAN

The other night, I received a message from my sister.

“Just got Penelope’s NAPLAN results haha.”

And I sighed.

I knew it was coming.

Penelope is in Grade 3.

How do I answer this?

I know how I would respond to a parent who had questions about NAPLAN. I could launch into my millionth explanation about how NAPLAN is a moment-in-time snapshot; how it is one piece of information among many; how it is more useful for schools to identify trends, measure growth and inform teaching than it is to define an individual child.

Blah, blah, blah.

But this was my niece we were talking about.

Not means and medians.

Not Strong, Exceeding or Developing.

It was Penelope.

Every year, I pour over our NAPLAN data. I track trends. I celebrate growth. I look for patterns. I generate wonderings. I ask questions about what the data might be telling us about our students and our teaching.

But when I thought about Penelope's NAPLAN data, I felt a little flat.

How much can an A3 piece of paper actually tell us about a kid?

Does it describe her curiosity?

Does it capture her sense of humour?

Does it measure the stories she tells about her friends?

Does it tell us about the songs she writes, the questions she asks, the things she notices that other people miss?

Does it tell us who she is?

Of course it doesn't.

And that was a nice reminder for me.

Because data matters. It matters a lot for schools. It can help us identify students who need additional support or further extension, celebrate growth and make better decisions about teaching and learning.

But data is never the child.

Behind every data point is a face. A child who is more than a score, a band, a percentage or a coloured dot on a spreadsheet.

So, when your child's NAPLAN results arrive, have a look at them. Ask questions if you have them. Talk to your child's teacher. Use the information as one small piece of the much bigger picture.

And then, perhaps, put the piece of paper away.

Because the things that really matter about your child?

You won't find them on an A3 sheet of paper.

You already know them.

Mat Williamson

Assistant Principal (and the fun uncle)