About
About
The National Assessment Program is run at the direction of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA). It includes the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), the three-yearly sample assessments in Science Literacy, Civics and Citizenship, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy, and participation in international sample assessments.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is the independent statutory authority responsible for the overall management of the Australian National Assessment Program, in collaboration with representatives from all states and territories and non-government school sectors.
NAPLAN is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It tests the types of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken nationwide, every year in the second full week in May.
NAP Sample Assessments occur annually, on a three-year rotation. In 2011, ICT Literacy will be tested, followed by Science Literacy in 2012, and Civics and Citizenship in 2013. Only a small sample of randomly selected schools participate in the sample assessments, which provide a national snapshot of performance in these three agreed areas of learning.
International sample assessments that Australia participates in as part of the National Assessment Program are the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) which is conducted every five years. ACARA does not oversee the delivery of these assessments. For more information on Australia's participation in these international assessments, please follow the links.