Far North Improves in NAPLAN Results

SCHOOL students in the Far North have improved in 11 out of 20 NAPLAN test areas, while there region’s 11,000 indigenous students enrolled in state schools have continued to lift their performance.

In the nationwide tests, Far Northern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are improving at a faster rate than non-indigenous students, with NAPLAN results showing promising signs throughout the region.

Individual school results from the May tests were released yesterday, showing how students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 performed in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Department of Education Far Northern director Clive Dixon said the Far North was one of Queensland’s most improved regions.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are improving at a rate of 20 per cent above national minimum standards, which is really pleasing,” he said.

Among the success stories is Innisfail East State School, where every student in years 3 and 5 finished above the national minimum standard, putting the small school on par with some of Brisbane’s most exclusive private schools.

Principal Nathaniel Train said the results exceeded expectations and showed the strong improvements made by the school’s indigenous students.

He said the impact of cyclones Larry and Yasi, with both storms forcing the school to close temporarily, had strengthened the bond between students and teachers.

“The cyclones have helped create a group of students and staff who are resilient and independent,” he said.

Yarrabah State School was one of the region’s biggest improvers.

At Yarrabah school, 88 per cent of year 3 students performed above the minimum standard in writing, compared with 57 per cent last year and just 18 per cent when the first test was held in 2008.

Principal Simon Cotton said the improvement reflected the school’s strong focus on literacy and numeracy.

“We’ve been putting a lot of resources into early childhood years and this is evidence that it is coming into fruition,” he said.

But students in Years 5, 7 and 9 are still well below the national average in writing.

Mr Cotton said the fact English was a second language for all of the students should be kept in mind when viewing the results.

“We certainly notice that kids slip backwards when they come back from holidays because they’ve been speaking their own language at home,” he said.

Wonga Beach State School, which has introduced a series of chants in the classroom to assist in learning, had 88 per cent of its students over the national minimum in all categories.

Some of the Far North’s most remote schools have also continued to punch above their weight, with Dimbulah State School recording strong results in spelling and numeracy.

Queensland Teachers Union president Kevin Bates warned parents should not read too much into the data, saying results are often outdated by the time they are released.

A breakdown of NAPLAN results will go on the MySchool website next year.

Meanwhile, teaching indigenous children in their mother tongue would help lift literacy rates and school attendance, a federal parliamentary committee said yesterday.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Affairs committee has spent more than 12 months looking into language learning in indigenous communities.

Its report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, made 30 recommendations and called on federal, state and territory governments to offer bilingual education programs from the earliest years of learning.

Committee chairman Shayne Neumann, a Labor backbencher, said it was “crystal clear” bi-lingual classrooms would improve school attendance.

“White Australia has dispossessed indigenous people of their land and of their language,” Mr Neumann said.

Of an estimated 250 Australian indigenous languages, only 18 remained in 2012, he said.

“Language is critical to cultural pride and crucial to making sure people have a good education, vocational success and good health outcomes.”