Minister for Education, Training and Employment
The Honourable John-Paul Langbroek
Keep calm the message for NAPLAN 2012
Education, Training and Employment Minister John-Paul Langbroek today encouraged students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 to keep their cool and trust in their abilities as they take on the 2012 NAPLAN tests.
Mr Langbroek said around 218,500 Queensland state, Catholic and independent school students will sit the annual tests this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (15-17 May).
“I wish Queensland students all the best as they sit the NAPLAN tests over the next few days,” Mr Langbroek said.
NAPLAN is the ‘National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy’ assessment and all schools across the country will participate.
“Tests can be a little bit stressful so I encourage all students to give an answer to every question, stay calm and trust in their abilities,” he said.
“I’d also like to remind students and their parents to make sure Queensland kids have a good night’s sleep tonight and a good healthy breakfast in the morning.
“Children will b e able to think more clearly if they’re well rested and well-nourished each day before they sit the tests.”
Mr Langbroek said it was timely to remind parents that while the NAPLAN tests were important, they don’t provide an overall picture of their child’s learning and achievement.
“The NAPLAN tests show us how our students are progressing in the core learning areas of reading, writing, punctuation and grammar, spelling and numeracy.
“The Newman Government is committed to improving the educational outcomes for students. These results will help us see where they are performing well and where we need to put in some extra work and resources.
“However, these tests aren’t the ‘be all and end all’. They are just one part of the story when it comes to assessing students’ overall development.”
Mr Langbroek acknowledged the hard work being done in schools across the state to lift Queensland’s performance on the tests and said year 3 students were t he standout performers in NAPLAN 2011.
“I am very proud of Queensland students and with the encouragement and support of parents, teachers and principals, I wish all pupils well this week when sitting the NAPLAN test”.
