McKinnon Primary School principal Sandra Myrwoda barely hears any chatter about NAPLAN tests when she steps into the staffroom. And there is little talk about it among students in the playground.
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Ms Myrwoda tries to encourage a relaxed attitude to NAPLAN: ''There's no stress in class, there are no special conditions.''
But the children's results suggest they are well prepared for the questions.
McKinnon Primary School's scores for 2012 were above or substantially above the national average in all sections, which includes five areas of literacy and numeracy.
Ms Myrwoda has high expectations for the results again this year but the school, in a high socio-economic area, has retained its stress-free preparation. The NAPLAN tests will be held this week.
''I would be very hopeful that this year's NAPLAN results are better than last year,'' Ms Myrwoda said. She said teachers were not instructed to spend class time discussing the content of the tests. However, they do prepare the children for NAPLAN by telling them the structure of the testing days will be different to the usual routine.
''The kids have to feel comfortable with that and know it's going to take place in a non-threatening way,'' she said. ''The last thing you would be wanting to tell kids is 'Today we're having a test and you've got to do well'.''
While some teachers and academics have criticised the tests for creating unnecessary stress, Ms Myrwoda said NAPLAN provided useful information about the students. ''We look at the NAPLAN data to reinforce the data that we're collecting on a weekly basis.''
Students sit the tests in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Ms Myrwoda said a comprehensive curriculum throughout a child's schooling was the only effective way to achieve strong results in the tests.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive Rob Randall said parents and students should not be ''overly worried'' about the tests. ''NAPLAN is just a measure of reading, writing and mathematics, the same material that is taught and tested throughout the school year,'' he said.
Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett said from 2016 NAPLAN tests would include science. That year the tests will also move online. Before NAPLAN and the My School website were introduced there was no measure of how schools were performing in a ''national context'', he said.
''There was no single way of comparing school and student results and building a picture of what was working in our schools, as well as where we needed to focus more attention.''
b.preiss@theage.com.au
