From the Principal

At Endeavour we monitor student progress each semester and we use NAPLAN results to help us identify trends in overall student progress, but also individual students whose results may indicate they would benefit from greater support in their learning. 

We regard NAPLAN as a very important source of information for diagnostic purposes, but it does not define you as a person.

I read an article leading up to NAPLAN saying that thousands of children across Australia woke up during NAPLAN week not wanting to go to school. Not wanting to get up and put a uniform on and go and spend the day with their friends. They were too stressed, and that is all NAPLANs fault. It stated that the people who score these tests don’t know that some children love to sing, are good at dancing etc.

That is true, as it would be very strange if a government sanctioned literacy test somehow gauged how well you could dance, or to what degree you were kind. A lot of things about ourselves cannot be measured, and that has been the case for as long as classrooms have existed. 

But we sit and watch the kids who are good at dancing, dance. We sit and listen to the kids who are good at singing, sing. We stand and admire the kids who are good at sport. 

Yet when it comes to anything academic, we are very quick to alleviate all pressure. To downplay the importance of a test. 

Life is full of tests.

Students who sat NAPLAN, might one day have to sit SACE exams (around 90% of Endeavour students do). They might have to sit a driving test. They most definitely will have to, at some point, concentrate for a long period of time on completing one activity. 

Tests can teach resilience. They can teach students that even though we might feel nervous and uncomfortable, that feeling will pass. Being prepared helps. 

And when we work hard, it does tend to pay off. NAPLAN is a test, nothing more and nothing less. 

An exam is only ever indicative of your performance on a particular day, but surely that's a lesson worth learning. 

Of course, the NAPLAN test does not assess all of what makes you exceptional and unique, nothing can.

Keeping that in mind, we have received our NAPLAN results and are absolutely thrilled to see our students achieving above the state average in all assessment areas. This is a testament to you as parents, and our teaching and broader learning communities.

Please refer to Vision for Learners page for more information, and where to access the results. 

Additionally, the annual census and NCCD data has been submitted. The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authority's and governments to better understand the needs of students with disabilities, and more importantly how they can be best supported in school.

Mr Richard Baird

Principal