From the Head of Learning and Teaching – Tracking Student Growth

Last week we shared with the School community the 2024 recent NAPLAN results. These results demonstrated the ongoing development of the literacy and numeracy skills of MLC School students. With over 90% of students achieving results in the strong and exceeding ranges for all domains, in all year groups, these results were exceptionally strong. However, NAPLAN is a point in time measure and only one of several measures we use to track student growth.

Measures of growth need to be appropriate to both student age and stage of learning. In Kindergarten we use a number of diagnostic tools to assess where students are at as they enter their first mandatory year of schooling, their progress is then monitored using a range of formative assessment measures to ensure they stay on track with their learning. Early intervention for identified learning difficulties is a core part of the MLC School model.

As students progress into Year 4, we introduce a second standardised measure to track student growth provided by Academic Assessment Services (formerly referred to as Allwell). This data provides us with two different types of measures. AAS assesses the same domains as NAPLAN in literacy and numeracy. The analysis they provide the School with enables us to have a year on year measure from Year 3 to Year 10 enabling longitudinal tracking of student progress as they move through the School. The second measure provided is a measure of student ability that is independent of the content taught. Comparison of a student’s general reasoning score with literacy and numeracy measures, report grades and formative assessment tasks provides teachers with insight into whether students are working to potential. Analysis of discrepancies in the data assists teachers in setting stretch goals for students and the identification of potential learning difficulties so these can be addressed.

Intelligence is not fixed, and cognitive abilities can develop over time, but it is not always easy. Academic struggle is a key factor in the development of general reasoning skills that are a strong predictor of academic success. Use of the word struggle can have negative connotations, but in this context, it is the process of wrestling with new information, forming concepts and then applying these to new contexts that promotes ongoing cognitive development. Students need to experience ambiguity to become comfortable with there not always being a right or wrong answer, they need to experience failure so that they can problem solve for success the next time and they need to develop academic curiosity to develop greater agency over their own learning.

– Linda Emms
Head of Learning and Teaching