Maitland teachers are not surprised there has been “a substantial increase” in the number of students scoring a zero in the difficult NAPLAN writing test.
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Maitland Teacher’s Association president Brian Adamthwaite said it was “ridiculous” year three students were given the same question as 15-year-old children in year nine.
Students were asked to write a persuasive piece, using the prompt “which law or rule would you make better in your view?”.
“It’s not surprising some kids just sat there,” Mr Adamthwaite said.
He said students would have felt “terrified and incompetent” with the difficult question.
“The value of high-stakes testing is very questionable,” Mr Adamthwaite said. “It’s not showing the sorts of skills and understanding we are looking for.
“We can look at assessments of students in a much more productive way than once-a-year tests.”
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, which runs NAPLAN, is investigating problems with the writing question, Fairfax Media reports.
