Year 9 students in Western Australia outperformed the other states in both numeracy and reading on NAPLAN and are the third best in writing, thanks to a requirement that they demonstrate basic skills before they enter an academic stream for their senior years.
While the most recent National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy report shows some shocking results for Year 9 students, including an all-time low for reading in 2022, West Australian students continue to outperform other states.
The reason is easily pinpointed: in 2013, the State Government under premier Colin Barnett determined that any student in Year 10 who wished to go on and sit the West Australian Certificate of Education at the end of Year 12 had to first sit a basic literacy and numeracy exam in Year 10. It was introduced in 2014.
It is known as the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA), and students in the top two bands in NAPLAN in Year 9 are exempt.
The impact was immediate, says Steve Humphry, a statistician and expert in educational assessment, measurement and evaluation at the University of Western Australia who has done extensive analysis of NAPLAN scores in the state. He also headed the team that “crunched the numbers” between 2011 and 2016.
“We thought there was something wrong with the WA data in 2014 because of the jump,” Dr Humphry said.
“There was an obvious and very noticeable jump in literacy and numeracy scores for Year 9 students in WA.”
The OLNA effect has made a difference ever since. In 2022, WA’s Year 9 students scored an average of 585.1 with 92.2 per cent of students meeting the national minimum standard. It was followed by Victoria (584.6 and 91.6 per cent), NSW (580.5 and 90.2 per cent), South Australia (571.3 and 87.9 per cent).
WA also tops the states for numeracy in Year 9, but is slightly behind Victoria and NSW for writing.
Extract from Financial Review – 31 October 2022
YEAR 10 OUTDOOR ED SURF CAMP
Last week our Yr 10 Outdoor Education students ventured to Lancelin for the culmination of their surfing unit to test out their skills in a new environment. Heading up at lunchtime, the students had the challenge of setting up their tents in very windy conditions before a short walk along the beach to familiarise themselves with the following day’s surfing location. After dinner we headed to the nearby jetty to try our hand at fishing. Although it was difficult to get our lines out, a few lucky ones were rewarded for their patience and perseverance. The next morning the weather was kinder as we spent our time enjoying the rolling waves of Lancelin’s back beach! It was great to see a lot of students catch a wave with a few “party waves” also to be had.
Craig Thomas
JAPANESE STUDENT VISITORS
Dalton School Tokyo Year 9 students have been experiencing life at St Stephen’s School, with two groups of students visiting our Carramar and Duncraig campuses this week to learn about school in Australia and connect with students as part of a study tour organised by Gold Educational Tours. Year 9 and 10 St Stephen’s School students have buddied up with our Japanese visitors in some of their regular classes and during special activities including cooking bush tucker, learning calligraphy, climbing wall sessions and an introduction to some much-loved Australian sports (cricket and football).
A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF CAMPUS – CARPARK ETIQUETTE
The safety of families in our car park areas is a significant concern and it is paramount that, as a community, we show courtesy and care in this area. Please drive slowly at all times and only park in designated areas. Furthermore the turning circle at the end of the Staff carpark near Reception is not to be used as a student drop off or pickup point.
Thank you for your cooperation
Bennet Andrews – Head of Campus Carramar
CARRAMAR RESOURCE LISTS
(Years 7 – 12 in 2023)
Students are supplied with a list of essential items and texts which have to be purchased for school. This is handled by Campion Education WA.
Resource lists will be available online through the Campion website.
From Friday 11 November – Friday 2 December 2022
(If ordered after this date, the goods may not arrive on time for the new school year and a charge of $8.00 per order will be incurred.)
Order online at www.campion.com.au
- Click on “Online ordering for parents and students”
- Create your account
- Select St Stephen’s School – Carramar and enter the Resource List code, BCY7
- Select the year level and then choose the items you wish to purchase
‘Personal items for student use’ and ‘Parents to Supply’ is a personal choice as to avail from Campion or from your preferred stationery stockist. Please note that items ticked as “Compulsory Subscriptions” need to be purchased directly from Campion.
Understanding that “back to school” can be an expensive cost to families, our staff have made a conscious effort to keep the cost to a minimum.
Date of delivery is the week ending Friday 9 December (only for orders placed prior to the cut-off date).
Campion is located in Malaga (Monday – Friday) on telephone 6240 2778
A NIGHT ON THE GREEN
It is with great excitement that we invite our school community to the inaugural “Night on The Green” on Saturday 3 December from 4:30pm to 7:30pm. If you would like to be involved and give a couple of hours of your time to help on the day, please contact Bronwyn (bronwyn.doak@yahoo.com) or Karen (hinder@internode.on.net ).
This parent led event is a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together, but also for everyone to get some Christmas shopping done J! Many of our Christmas Markets stall holders will have Eftpos machines, but some may only accept cash (something to keep in mind).
Students will be able to get their picture taken in our special Santa’s Grotto this year! A lovely souvenir to share with family and friends J. Please note that the photographer in charge will be able to take cash only ($5).
A lot of time and effort have been invested by parents to ensure that this event is a memorable one for all. We look forward to our community get-together and hope to see you there!
FUSION
STRENGTHENING CHILDREN & TEENS AGAINST ANXIETY
PRESENTATION EVENING 2022
NEW BUS ROUTE
WAAPA SUMMER SCHOOL 2023
Join us at WAAPA in January 2023 for fun, new friends and lots of performing! This summer WAAPA is offering a range of performing arts courses as part of our school holiday program for secondary school students. Classes for young people from Year 7 to 12 in Acting, Dance, Screen performance, Jazz and Music Theatre means there is something for everyone with a passion for the arts. Our wonderful staff cater for all abilities and experience levels. For information about the many courses on offer please visit Summer School 2023 or contact Gabrielle Metcalf at explore.waapa@ecu.edu.au or 9370 6775.
St Stephen’s School has no affiliation with this company and the post is simply an ad for their services if required.