QUT – Helping college scholarships improve their test results – ABC News

NEWS REPORTER, ABC NEWS: As the school year draws to a close, a university expert has been drafted by some Queensland schools to help lift their NAPLAN scores. Test results are analyzed and problem areas are identified. As Alison Horn reports. ALISON HORN, NEWS REPORTER, ABC NEWS: Each year thousands of students are tested college scholarships on their numeracy and literacy skills. But once the forms are filled there is little help to decipher the results. A number of Queensland schools are now turning to an academic for assistance. DR JUDY SMEED, QLD UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY: We come into the schools and we work with those teachers to make sure they also have the skills to be able to analyze the assessment data.

ALISON HORN: In Townsville Dr Smeed is crunching the numbers and identifying what areas of the curriculum need more attention. She says the improvements in test scores have been remarkable. DR JUD SMEED: The schools here, fifty-two percent of them have one hundred percent what we call, domain percentage improvement. CATHY DAY, TOWNSVILLE CATHOLIC EDUCATION: Teachers need to have a way of making decisions that are based on evidence. And so that’s why its such an important part of the job of teachers.

ALISON HORN: Across the state, dozens of schools from remote areas like palm island to the inner suburbs of Brisbane have asked Dr Smeed for help to improve their student outcomes. CATHY DAY: Well it’s novel, but I think it will become the norm. I think all schools have to really demonstrate really clearly that they have good practices to improve student learning. ALISON HORN: Easing the test stress on students and teachers. Alison Horn, ABC News, Townsville.