NAPLAN tests may go online

As this year's NAPLAN tests took place in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 classrooms around Australia, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) confirmed that is investigating the possibility of offering the tests online in the future.

The proposal is pending approval by federal and state government education ministers.

One of the key advantages of an online testing platform would be that tests could be adjusted according to student ability as students respond to each question. It is believed that this tailored testing would allow more effective measurement of responses from high- and low-performing students and would prevent students from wasting test time on questions that are not matched to their ability.

The use of online technology would also mean that test results would be released more quickly avoiding the current four-month lag, which some believe reduces the relevance of the results.

Questions have been raised over whether all schools have enough computers to be able to provide the tests online for all students, meaning that if online testing is introduced it will most likely be optional.

Only time will tell what the outcome of the proposal will be and the expected timeframe stay tuned for updates on the Good Schools Guide website.

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