NAPLAN and Diffendoofer Day

The current debate surrounding NAPLAN and the possible creation of league tables for Australian schools shows no signs of diminishing. Teachers, parents, government agencies, school administrators and union representatives are each offering different perspectives on this issue and each argument is seemingly well reasoned leading to much confusion surrounding the “right” perspective. At the heart of this and indeed all education debates is the central question of what we really value. Andy Hargreaves, a world leader in education, wonderfully summed up the current debates regarding standardised testing and ratings according to test scores by stating that when we don’t “measure what we value, we end up valuing what we measure”.

A well balanced “Education Revolution” should value excellence in all of life’s dimensions – academically, physically, spiritually and socially; and should seek to provide classroom environments where learning in all its fullness can be celebrated and encouraged. In highlighting this emphasis, I am reminded of the excellent Dr Seus book “Hooray for Diffendoofer Day”. As the father of four children, Dr Seus was a regular favourite at bedtime, and this particular book, whilst not as well known as Green Eggs and Ham, or Cat and the Hat, contains some of the most revealing and accurate comments on schools and education that have ever been written. The book, in typical Dr Seuss style, humorously tells the story of Diffendoofer School, and the wonderful teachers there (including the highly creative Miss Bonkers) who make learning “come alive” within their students. Such a celebration of learning is treated with cautious suspicion by the serious and sober looking principal, Mr Lowe, who feared that students may not be learning “much at all”. The nervous Mr Lowe then announces to the school:

“All schools for miles and miles around must take a special test

To see who’s learning such and such – to see which school’s the best”

If our small school does not do well, then it will be torn down;

And you will have to go to school in dreary Flobbertown”.

Flobbertown was a very dark and scary looking school where everyone does “everything the same” without any life, joy and creativity. Miss Bonkers tells the students to not worry about the test because “you’ve learned the things you need to pass any test... and something else that matters more – we’ve taught you how to think” The story ends with Diffendoofer students achieving “1000000” percent and the entire school celebrating their outstanding achievements.

Surely our goal as educators should be to cultivate an environment where students learn how to think and where the joy of learning is celebrated in all its many dimensions. This is what all great teachers and educational leaders aspire to and what they desire for every student in their schools. This is therefore what we really value and what determines our measure of excellence in all that we do. I’m certain Dr Seus would heartily agree that to do anything less is to put an end to the dynamic art of teaching and turn it into a paint by the numbers profession.

NAPLAN and a New Kind of “Average"

Recently I uncovered an old primary school report that had been kept in a file of papers nestled in an old shoe box. This tattered report card instantly brought back memories of 1977... the odorous smell of my cardboard school “port”, the seemingly endless days of playing cricket and footy, my best mates and the matters of life and death that were related to games of handball or red rover, and even the after shave of my teacher Mr Briggs and his glass eye (which he would remove every so often and put on the desk with the warning “I’ve got my eye on you!!).

Whilst I may be showing my age, the report card of the 1970’s was a personal document that was disclosed to only the student and their parents. Handwritten (in impossibly perfect Qld cursive), the report provided details of my all round development as a Year 5 student - socially, personally, physically academically. In short – how I was progressing throughout the year. In fact that is what they called reports back then, progress reports. They were essentially about a journey, an unfolding development across a range of subjects, skills and interests that made up the entirety of school life. My report card for 1977 was unremarkable in many ways... I was a “c” student – average at most things except sport where I excelled both within the subject and at representative level. One other result stood out on that report - a “D” for English with a comment that read “Darren shows great potential in English but needs to develop more consistent home study habits”. Put simply, I was a somewhat average kid who was more or less like most other kids in my grade - albeit with an aversion to homework – and this was evidenced not by one missed day of homework but by a series of poor choices regarding my home study habits!

In 2010 however, we have a new kind of “average”. The dramatic changes that have taken place over the past few years with school reporting through NAPLAN and the My School website have meant that the progress report has now become a one moment in time measure of success or failure not only for students, but also for teachers and schools. The progress report we once had that measured our development throughout the year and over a series of tasks and exercises has been replaced a new kind of average that places tremendous pressure on students to perform in one test, on one day, and that one mark is then used to determine whether a student is “average” or not. To allay any fears, Heights College students will definitely be undertaking the Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 NAPLAN tests, and the College has traditionally performed extremely well in all of these measures. NAPLAN tests are not to be feared and can be used as a great tool for improving learning and identifying areas in need of improvement. But it is important for us all to remember, one mark, on one test, held on one day should not ever be seen as the net result of a student’s achievement or worth. This new kind of average, in my opinion, falls well below a passing grade and replaces the emphasis that should be upon meaningful learning to a raw score and a percentile rank based upon one test held on one day. At Heights College, our focus is upon celebrating learning in all its dimensions, and through this focus, our results in ANY test will be merely a representative snapshot of a far more important emphasis – a lifelong learning journey.
I have one final report to give you on the progress of that “D” level English student in 1977 – he now has four degrees and is nearing completion of his PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Qld. This “D” level student “progressed” to win three scholarships across two universities and has recently been published in an international journal with a book publication deal pending. The lesson to be learned is to ensure that our focus must always remain on the journey of learning and whilst one moment in time results may reveal our present proficiency – they should never be assumed to be our final destination... That is why at Heights College our desire is to produce lifelong learners who are journeying towards something extra-ordinary, and not simply complying to a new kind of “average”.