SHANE Rattenbury says NAPLAN data from 2015 has been released on the ‘My School’ website today, providing information about literacy and numeracy outcomes, and schools’ priorities, staffing, resources, attendance rates and some financial data.

“Data from 2015 indicates that the ACT continues to perform well compared to other schools around the country, but there is more we can do to improve educational outcomes for all Canberra students,” Shane said.

“NAPLAN testing provides a snapshot at four points across a child’s schooling and, while the testing is useful in establishing an important benchmark for an individuals’ literacy and numeracy skills, it does not provide the full picture of each child’s development or educational engagement.

“The raw data shows some positive results in the 2015 update, particularly that 65% of ACT public schools performed as well as, or above, the national mean.

“However, not enough of our schools performed above the peer group average in many of the categories and there is room for improvement when these schools are compared with those serving similar student populations across the country.

“I want to see Canberra students continue to achieve strong results across all our schools and an additional focus on closing the gap for indigenous students and improving outcomes for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

“I am really encouraged by the work undertaken by schools who have implemented new programs or approaches that have resulted in significant gains within cohorts over the testing period.

“For example, the University of Canberra High School Kaleen, which has achieved a higher than national average gain in numeracy and literacy. Over the past two years Kaleen has made a conscious effort to improve literacy outcomes, including the employment of a Literacy Field Officer and implementation of designated literacy blocks for students.

“This is great example of a school principal using the NAPLAN data in a way that enhances student learning on an ongoing basis and ultimately results in better student outcomes.

“My School can be a valuable source of information for parents and carers, however there is no substitute to visiting your child’s school, speaking to the principal and teachers, and observing students as they participate in their school day.

“I encourage parents and carers to drop in to their local school to see first-hand the quality of public schools and our teachers in the ACT,” Mr Rattenbury concluded.

My School is now online at myschool.edu.au