The Australian Government Primary Principals Association (AGPPA) calls on the Federal Government to acknowledge the extraordinary work that schools and teachers do to continue to provide a high quality education for Australian students.
Schools use a range of qualitative and quantitative measures to assess important abilities, knowledge and behaviours of students, beyond the narrow focus of literacy and numeracy in NAPLAN.
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AGPPA President Gabrielle Leigh said a high quality education goes beyond the measures of NAPLAN. “Schools also focus on the development of creativity, critical thinking, application of problem solving skills and personal attributes which are needed to develop a future workforce.”
AGPPA cautions that increased funding does not translate to instant increases in improved student outcomes.
We applaud the gains made in those States and Territories where increased federal funding has been distributed entirely to schools and students. Not all State and Territory jurisdictions distribute all the Federal funding allocated directly to schools. Australian Government primary principals urge all jurisdictions to honour the intent of this funding.
AGPPA believes that the true value of NAPLAN needs to be thoroughly researched.
AGPPA, representing over 5300 government primary schools across all States and Territories of Australia, recently met in Adelaide to discuss the focus of NAPLAN.