From the Acting Assistant Principal and Leader of Learning

Celebrating And Responding To NAPLAN Data

The results of the 2023 NAPLAN assessments for Marist Sisters’ College showcase commendable outcomes when compared against both the state and national averages. This is particularly pleasing since the standards used in this year’s assessment were more demanding than in previous years. 

The College is well prepared to address areas of concern because it invests in the Academic Services Assessment of students. This data provides the College with information about the cohort to target areas of concern. This year, the 2023 NAPLAN showed strength in literacy and opportunities for development in numeracy.

Year 7 Performance

Reading: Marist Sisters’ College achieved significantly higher than the state and national averages.

Writing: The cohort exceeded the state and the national average.

Spelling: The cohort again surpassed both the state and national averages.

Grammar & Punctuation: The school’s achievement in this category was higher than the state and the national average.

Numeracy: The cohort achieved above the national average and slightly higher than the state average. While the College is doing well in numeracy, there is potential for improvement.

Year 9 Performance

Reading: The cohort achieved considerably above the state and national averages.

Writing: The cohort’s impressive score surpassed the state average and the national average.

Spelling: The cohort outperformed the state and the national average.

Grammar & Punctuation: The cohort exceeded both the state and national benchmarks.

Numeracy: The achieved above the national average. However, it’s a bit closer to the state average. Like in Year 7, numeracy remains a category where the cohort outperforms the national average but stays relatively close to the state average, suggesting an area for enhanced focus.

Marist Sisters’ College has shown exemplary performance in the 2023 NAPLAN assessments, consistently outperforming both state and national averages. This results from a high standard of education and commitment to student success. 

Numeracy

Our deep dive into the Numeracy domain this year has provided us with a comprehensive snapshot of our students’ mathematical proficiency, highlighting significant achievement and improvements for many students. In both Years 7 and 9 cohorts, our students outperformed the state and national averages for Numeracy, which is a testament to the hard work and commitment of students and staff in our College. In Year 7, 15% of students achieved exceeding expectations of proficiency, and 77% reached proficiency overall, while in Year 9, 76% reached proficiency. 

Success in the domain of numeracy is dependent upon the cultivation a multitude of skills, including but not limited to the following: basic arithmetic; fluency with fractions, decimals and percentages; number sense and estimation; problem-solving; mathematical literacy; transfer to practical scenarios; and mathematical confidence. 

The first two, in particular, have proven to be critical factors that can often affect and inhibit student achievement in numeracy and mathematics at MSCW, while the last was one we touched on in an earlier edition of the newsletter this year. These learnings are pertinent not only to Years 7 and 9, but to the entire MSCW community in our journey to grow a community of learners who both undertake and enjoy higher levels of mathematical study.

Arithmetic and Automaticity 

Our NAPLAN data suggests that MSCW students have a need for increased automaticity in mental arithmetic. Automaticity is particularly important as it refers to the ability to perform basic arithmetic operations quickly and accurately without conscious effort, but is also indicative of greater fluency and underlying understanding. This specific capability is crucial to reducing cognitive load, which thus enables students to focus on higher-order thinking and problem-solving and make progress towards more complex outcomes in the curriculum. A study published in the Journal of Research in Mathematics Education (Gersten, Jordan & Flojo, 2005) highlighted the strong connection between automaticity in basic arithmetic and later success in algebra. Students who lacked automaticity in arithmetic were more likely to go on to struggle with algebraic concepts and problem-solving, as they were unable to ‘free up’ the mental resources needed for mental calculations to redistribute them to the learning of new concepts. 

To enhance automaticity in arithmetic, students will be given time in class to practise their basic mathematics skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division regularly and are encouraged to continue this at home, too. These skills are the building blocks upon which more advanced mathematical concepts will be constructed. By achieving automaticity in these areas, students will not only improve their performance on standardised tests such as NAPLAN but also gain the confidence to tackle more rigorous problem-solving and challenging mathematical topics in later years of schooling.

Fluency with Fractions, Decimals and Percentages 

Our 2023 NAPLAN results also suggest the need for greater emphasis on fluency with fractions, decimals, and percentages, which are foundational mathematical concepts essential in the school environment and in various aspects of everyday life. Having a strong foundation in these areas is pivotal for overall mathematical success, due to their ubiquity throughout the whole suite of mathematical concepts found in study and the real world. A study by Booth et al. (2016) in the Journal of Educational Psychology revealed a strong correlation between students’ proficiency in fractions, decimals, and percentages and their problem-solving skills that were able to be applied to various mathematical contexts. 

Understanding and computing with fractions, decimals, and percentages is not only about solving specific mathematics problems but also about developing a deep comprehension of their relationship and applications. These skills are also beneficial in automating in order to reduce cognitive load for more difficult mathematics problems. To address this, we encourage MSCW students to practise these concepts at home and reinforce them through in-school activities, including our weekly Maths Club opportunities and upcoming workshops in classes. By doing so, we can ensure that our students are better equipped not just to gain achievement in tests, but to handle real-world situations involving these fundamental numerical skills.

Moving Forward 

In the coming months, the College will organise workshops, provide additional resources, and offer support to ensure students receive the assistance they need to further their numeracy skill development. We invite all parents and guardians to engage with our efforts and encourage their daughters to actively participate in their mathematical education. We particularly request that parents speak with students about utilising the opportunities available in Maths Club for free 1:1 tutoring from peers and teachers. 

Maths Club continues to run in Jarnosse on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesdays at lunch.