It has been touted as the solution to NAPLAN's controversy, but the NSW Teachers Federation fears the new diagnostic test for year 10 will just be more of the same.
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An independent review into the NAPLAN test recommended the national standardised test be overhauled to better meet the needs of students, teachers and their school communities.
The review, conducted by Emeritus Professor Barry McGaw, Emeritus Professor Bill Louden, and Professor Claire Wyatt-Smith, recommended the test be given to year 10 students, instead of year 9, and be moved earlier in the year.
Currently, the test is being given in May although the 2020 cohort missed out as a result of COVID-19 uncertainties. Dubbed as the 'Australian National Standardised Assessments' (ANSA), the test will go beyond the NAPLAN's focus on numeracy and literacy, to now including STEM assessments.
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The new assessment would replace the tri-annual NAP science literacy exam.
Riverina organiser for the NSW Teachers Federation, John Pratt, said while the review had been welcomed, the proposed changes would not address the problems of NAPLAN.
"Everything we predicted in 2010 about the NAPLAN has come true," he said.
"We said there were be a narrowing of the curriculum, teaching to the test and inappropriate use of the data. ANSA is not going to change that, it's just going to shift the problems from one year group to another."
Rather than introducing the new test, Mr Pratt advocated for greater consultation to take place with teachers to determine the best way to measure student outcome.
"No one knows that child's educational growth better than their classroom teacher and their parents. The school community and the teachers need to be given primacy in deciding how to assess students," he said.
Meanwhile, this week the teachers federation has begun an independent inquiry into the teaching profession's changing value in society.
On the first day of hearings, the NSW Teachers Federation made a case for an increase in salaries and better working conditions.
"There's been a lot of changes to the work and the expectations. There's been an increase to workload and red tape and the need for data collection," Mr Pratt said.
"We are teachers, not data collectors, that's not what education is about. It's about getting stuck in, getting your hands dirty and teaching."