The Preliminary Results of NAPLAN 2019 has been released and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School came out as the top Primary School in Queensland.
As in the past, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School performed very well in the 2019 NAPLAN testing. The Ascot-based day and boarding school for girls topped the best performing Qld primary schools list, followed by Rainworth State School in Bardon and Ashgrove State School in Ashgrove.
All students in Australian schools who are in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in the NAPLAN testing in May of each year. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses the students’ skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
Naplan is an important tool for the schools the parents to assess the child’s progress and identify opportunities for improvement in areas of literacy and numeracy.
NAPLAN 2019 Outcomes for St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School
| Year 3 | |||||
| READ | WRITE | SPELL | GP | NMCY | |
| Average Score | 510 | 494 | 491 | 554 | 479 |
| % of students at or above NMS | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Year 5 | |||||
| READ | WRITE | SPELL | GP | NMCY | |
| Average Score | 572 | 530 | 547 | 610 | 537 |
| % of students at or above NMS | 100% | 100% | 99% | 100% | 100% |
| Year 7 | |||||
| READ | WRITE | SPELL | GP | NMCY | |
| Average Score | 590 | 562 | 584 | 608 | 597 |
| % of students at or above NMS | 98% | 98% | 98% | 97% | 100% |
| Year 9 | |||||
| READ | WRITE | SPELL | GP | NMCY | |
| Average Score | 633 | 593 | 628 | 641 | 645 |
| % of students at or above NMS | 100% | 98% | 100% | 99% | 100% |
Source: NAPLAN 2019 data from Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Underscoring the 2019 Preliminary NAPLAN Writing Results
ACARA noted that NAPLAN results in writing for 2019 have revealed a “pleasing improvement” from last year, especially that there was a noticeable decline in recent years across all year levels.
“Schools have been making focused efforts for some time to address concerns about their students’ writing. Students are to be congratulated for this year’s improvement, especially Year 3 students, where the results are particularly encouraging,” ACARA CEO David de Carvalho said.
Despite the improvement in writing results, comparison of performance in writing by state and territory reveals that Queensland Year 9 students are the second least performing, just a step above the Northern Territory students, with only 77.6 percent of the cohorts meeting or above the national minimum standard. The Qld average is 5.3 percentage points lower than the national average of 82.9 percent.
Moreover, the percentage of Qld students at or above the NMS in Years 3, 5, and 7 also fell below the national average, with the gap increasing with each year.
NAPLAN 2019 achievement of Qld and Australia Year 3,5, and 7 students in writing:
- Qld Year 3 – 96.3%, Aust – 96.9% – difference 0.6
- Qld Year 5 – 91.2%, Aust – 93.1% – difference 1.9
- Qld Year 7 – 86.8%, Aust – 89.8% – difference 3.0
- Qld Year 9 – 77.6%, Aust – 82.9% – difference 5.3
Still, Education Minister Grace Grace lauded the preliminary results, stating that Queensland students continue to perform well in many key areas.
“This year’s results continue to confirm Queensland as one of the most improved states since testing began in 2008,” Ms Grace said.
“It is great to see our students improving in 17 of 20 NAPLAN test areas against National Minimum Standard, Mean Scale Score and Upper two Bands.”
“After more than 10 years, it’s time for a comprehensive national review of NAPLAN to ensure it remains current and responsive to changes in education,” she said.
“Queensland is still proud to be the star performer when it comes to NAPLAN.”
