No to NAPLAN?
According to a new State of the Schools survey conducted by the Australian Education Union, NAPLAN impacts teachers’ workload and students’ stress, and is not useful or effective enough to warrant this. In fact, many school principals and teachers are finding NAPLAN outdated.
The survey of public school teachers, principals and education support staff found 73% of principals say the NAPLAN increases teacher workloads; 86% of principals say that it contributes to students’ stress and anxiety, and 59% of principals say it makes no difference to student outcomes. The survey also showed that 62% of teachers say that NAPLAN is an ineffective diagnostic tool for teachers.
AEU Federal President Careena Haythorpe said that NAPLAN is not fit for purpose in our schools. “It does not properly assess student outcomes and achievements, nor does it account for the hard work teachers undertake to cater for varying student needs and ensure high quality teaching and learning happens in schools”. She has called for a new national assessment system with a comprehensive program of classroom-based and teacher-led assessments along with sample-based testing. “The union and its members must be consulted to develop a framework that puts the needs of students, teachers and parents at the centre of assessment.” Sunshine Coast Daily. 06/01/2022
​
From “The Conversation” this article from Steven Lewis on March 13, 2026, highlights yet another reason why NAPLAN should be given short shrift and relegated to the dustbin for all the bad ideas politicians have come up with in the past thirty five years or more to “Make schools great again!” What a lovely catchcry!
​
NAPLAN is being used by some schools as an entrance exam. This isn’t what it’s designed to do
Source – The Conversation
Published: March 13, 2026 6.12am AEDT
Author - Steven Lewis
School students around Australia have begun their NAPLAN tests this week.
Amid technical glitches during the writing component of the exam on Wednesday, there has also been confusion about the purpose of the test.
Earlier this week, NAPLAN boss Stephen Gneil told the Sydney Morning Herald he was worried about how the test results are being used.
He said some private and select-entry government schools were using the NAPLAN results as part of enrolment applications.
I think it is horrendous, and it’s a complete misuse of the assessment. It’s not one of the purposes and therefore the test is not designed as an entrance exam and shouldn’t be used as such.
So, what is NAPLAN designed to do?
Below is the link to the article in full and Steven Lewis will explain it for you clearly. It beggars belief to think that the head of ACARA, Mr Stephen Gneil, could suddenly discover this great anomaly with NAPLAN, and think it is horrendous. The anomaly began in 2009 when the Faith and Private school fraternities began posting NAPLAN results on their billboards, their Social Media platforms, their newspaper stories, where ever people noticed, and used their results as League Tables. They had the full support of the Murdoch media as a cheap and easy and government approved marketing tool, and poor old Mums and Dads were never the wiser. Good NAPLAN scores must mean good school opportunities and the flow from the public school system to the private has escalated ever since.
​
It has been helped mightily by the mal-funding disgrace of the Coalition governments of Abbot, Turnbull and Morrison who with their loyal Education Ministers Pyne, Birmingham, Teehan, Tudge and Robert all vehemently and aggressively resisting the recommendations of the Gonski Report in 2011 https://www.schoolsplus.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011-1.pdf which attempted to undo some of the harm John Howard’s Parent Choice school model had created, a model he is to this day so proud to have implemented. It was actually begun in 1963 when his hero Sir Robert Menzies disagreed that Australian Schools should be Free, Compulsory and Secular. Still his decision to publicly fund private and faith schools won him an election, and another term as Australia’s longest running Prime Min, so it must have been worth it.
​
All of society is now paying the price for those years of largesse to some and shortfalls to others, the great inequity becoming entrenched through education policies and the deep poverty we see all about as a result. One has little trouble connecting the recent events of the Bondi massacre with the education policies of the past fifty or so years where ghettos of like-minded and secluded groups have been publicly funded to raise and teach their children according to their own beliefs and norms, not the common code of a nation’s culture and aspirations. We slipped without so much as a whimper from a 'fair go' egalitarian society to one of great privilege and class discrepancies, one of great wealth for some and extreme poverty for so many others. And all of a sudden our politicians are scrambling about trying to find laws that will build social cohesion for the nation. We had such a system once and it was called ‘public education for all,’ as free and secular as possible, certainly compulsory. But who knows how many kids now go to school at all any more? A three out of three fail rate is the best we can do, apparently.
This is what Steven Lewis wrote:
One parent’s point of view.
Why I Am Opting My Child Out of NAPLAN
Before we dive into this, let me introduce myself. My name is Kerrie. Some of you may know me, some may not. Usually, I’m tinkering away behind the scenes at Wildlings https://www.wildlingsforestschool.com/ handling all things tech-related. Unlike Nicki and Vicci, our Wildlings Forest School co-founders, I don’t homeschool my child. But I deeply believe in the importance of play, children’s voices, and, above all, their well-being. I’ve also been a Wildlings parent—spending countless magical moments by the creek at Forest Kindy with my pre-preppy. Being part of Wildlings, both as a parent and a team member, has profoundly changed me—not just in how I parent but in how I view all children and the way society treats them.
​
It also made me rethink how I wanted my Wildling to navigate the school system—what experiences were worth pursuing and what simply weren’t.
My child has never taken NAPLAN. Why?
Because standardised testing doesn’t help my child learn.
It just stresses out everyone at their school.
If you’re new to this whole NAPLAN thing, here’s a quick breakdown. NAPLAN is a government-mandated standardised test used to rank schools and shape policy. It’s administered every March to students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. That means children as young as eight years old are sitting for a test that doesn’t actually enhance their learning.
Time and time again, research has shown that NAPLAN results are more reflective of socio-economic status than individual student ability.
So if we know it’s flawed, why do we keep doing it?
The Stress Factor.
We’re often told that kids shouldn’t stress about NAPLAN. But let’s be real.
No one likes taking tests.
Think about the last time you had to perform under pressure—maybe you were being watched while working, racing against a deadline, or being formally evaluated. Stressful, right?
Now imagine being a child who spends all day at school balancing classwork, assignments, and homework (don’t get me started on that topic), only to be told there’s yet another big test coming.
No, thank you.
Does NAPLAN Even Matter?
Let’s break it down:
· NAPLAN doesn’t affect my child’s report card.
· It doesn’t impact their high school placement.
· Universities don’t consider NAPLAN scores.
So why would I put my child through it? Why should any child go through it?
I want my child’s school years to be filled with curiosity and joy. I want them to engage in real learning—exploring new ideas, getting creative, and developing problem-solving skills—not drilling for an exam that tells us what their teachers already know through classwork, conversations, and observations.
That’s the kind of feedback that actually helps children. Not a test that reduces them to a number.
How to Opt-Out—It’s Super Easy.
Many parents don’t realise that NAPLAN isn’t compulsory. Personally, I believe it should be an opt-in process, but that’s not the reality we live in.
Opting out of NAPLAN is a simple yet powerful way to advocate for your child’s learning and well-being.
Whenever my child’s school principal reaches out about the upcoming NAPLAN test, I simply reply with:
“Hi [Principal’s Name],
We wish to withdraw our child, [Child’s Name & Class], from NAPLAN this year. Could you please advise what paperwork we need to complete?
Kind regards.”
The school will send a short form to tick and sign. That’s it! No stress for you or your child.
Protect Your Child’s Childhood.
Our kids deserve to enjoy school without unnecessary pressure. If we want them to grow up loving learning, we need to push back against outdated, stress-filled testing methods. NAPLAN doesn’t serve our children—it serves a system that prioritises numbers over well-being.
Opting out of NAPLAN is a small but meaningful way to stand up for your child’s happiness. If you’ve been unsure about it, take this as your sign.
Your child’s childhood—and their mental health—are worth protecting.
​
The late Phil Cullen's Treehorn Express campaign tried to alert the education community of the folly of the past eighteen years of NAPLAN, now having cost over a billion dollars and also having undermined our nation's education system to such a degree that huge cracks in the system are are costing further millions of dollars to paper over to keep a failing system seemingly viable.