NAPLAN

PREPARATION

2010

Education is the miracle - I’m just the worker. I’m a teacher and That’s what we do. Taylor Mali

Sources: QSA website, EQ website, HOC Network, DET NT, and Kath McCann (HOC Earnshaw State College) Contents

Year 3 Test Preparation 2010

. General Information . Purpose of the tests . What is Tested . Test Formats

NAPLAN Test Dates - 2010

Preparing students for tests

. Preparation through the curriculum  A Focus on Higher Order Thinking Skills  QCAR

. General Test-Taking Skills  Familiarity with Test Formats  Developing test-taking skills  Reducing student anxiety  Inappropriate strategies

Teaching Tips . Numeracy - teaching strategies and resources

. Literacy - teaching strategies and resources - Writing task Marking Guide and teaching strategies

NAPLAN tests 2010: - General Information The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests were first implemented in May 2008 when national tests were held in literacy and numeracy for all students in Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. These tests replaced the previous State and Territory-based assessments and have the support of all Education Ministers. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has been appointed to manage the tests for 2010. It is responsible for monitoring and reporting progress of the project and for the development of:  individual items and tests  agreed marking standards  quality control standards and risk management. Although ACARA is managing the national tests, the QSA will coordinate the administration, marking and reporting of the assessments for Queensland. Purpose of the tests The NAPLAN tests are designed to assess the skills of Australian students in literacy and numeracy. The specific purposes are:  to collect data from the population of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students for reporting to parents/carers and schools for systematic reporting  to accommodate the assessment of students against national minimum standards. What is tested? The following areas of literacy are assessed:  Language conventions - spelling, grammar and punctuation  Writing - knowledge and control of written language  Reading - comprehension. In numeracy, the content areas assessed are:  Number  Measurement, chance and data  Space  Algebra, function and pattern (formal algebra for Year 9 only). Results from the tests will provide important information about children's progress in literacy and numeracy. Following the tests, schools and students will receive a statement of performance in relation to the national minimum standards. Format of the tests The program will run over 3 days, in students' own schools from 11-13 May 2010.  For Years 3 and 5 there will be 4 tests: Language conventions, Writing, Reading and Numeracy.  For Years 7 and 9 there will be 5 tests: Language conventions, Writing, Reading, Numeracy-non-calculator and Numeracy-calculator allowed. For the Writing test, students will be given a stimulus and asked to write a response to the task in a maximum of three pages. Students will be required to write a story/narrative.

The response formats for questions on all other test papers will be either multiple choice - shade a bubble to indicate the answer - or constructed response - write the answer in a box or on a line. NAPLAN Test Dates and Timetable Schools must schedule the tests on the dates agreed to by the Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC). Tests must not be conducted prior to the published date under any circumstances. The order of the tests cannot be varied.

Timetable for National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy 2010 for Years 3 5, 7 and 9 Year level Tuesday 11 May Wednesday 12 May Thursday 13 May Year 3 Language conventions Reading Numeracy 40 minutes 45 minutes 45 minutes

(48 questions) (6 stimulus) (35 questions)

Writing (35 questions) 40 minutes Year 5 Language conventions Reading Numeracy 40 minutes 50 minutes 50 minutes

(48 questions) (6 stimulus) (40 questions)

Writing (35 questions) 40 minutes Year 7 Language conventions Reading Numeracy 45 minutes 65 minutes 40 minutes x 2

(54 questions) (8 stimulus) (80 minutes total)

Writing (47 questions) (64 questions altogether) 40 minutes Calculator-allowed test first, followed by non-calculator test. Year 9 Language conventions Reading Numeracy 45 minutes 65 minutes 40 minutes x 2

(54 questions) (8 stimulus) (80 minutes total)

Writing (47 questions) (64 questions altogether) 40 minutes Calculator-allowed test first, followed by non-calculator test. Add 10-15 minutes test introduction time to the times stated in this table. Note Where there is more than one test scheduled for any day, a minimum of 20 minutes break time should be provided between the two test sessions. Both tests are to be completed by 1 pm. Test times 1. The test times indicated in this table are the published test times - that is, the time allowed to complete the test, excluding administration time. 2. The published test time is the maximum time allowed for test completion excluding administration time. 3. It is expected that a majority of students will complete the tests well within the published test time. 10 Top Tips for Students

1.Fill bubbles in completely (not a few squiggly lines or a tick) and only fill in 1 bubble for each answer – except for questions that ask you to fill in two 2.Use only a HB or 2B pencil – not coloured pencils or felt tip pens 3.Only fill in bubbles or write answers in the spaces provided – DO NOT draw in the margin or on the barcodes 4.If you need to change your answer, use an eraser – DO NOT cross out 5.Put up your hand and ask if you are not sure about what to do 6.Only write on the lines provided in the Writing test booklet – NOT in the margins 7.If you haven’t got a title to start, leave a line for your title and write one at the end. 8.When you read the questions, you may underline the main point of each one. 9.Read the questions again and CHECK YOUR ANSWERS 10. Make sure you answer every question – DON’T ACCIDENTLY SKIP ANY 10 Top Tips for Teachers

1. Read the Test Instruction Handbook carefully before the testing days 2. Move around the room during the test to check on students 3.Check that students do not accidently skip questions or pages 4. Only provide the students with the instructions as set out in the Test Administration booklet 5. Have erasers and scrap paper available 6. Ensure students have something to read / go on with if they finish the test ahead of their classmates 7. Remind students to check their work when they say they are finished 8. Carefully print student names and details on the front cover of blank booklets 9. Have a clock in sight of the students and write the starting time and finishing time on the board for them to see 10. Cover up / remove specific teaching charts for the duration of the tests AND Share the 10 Hot Tips for Students with your class Preparing students for tests Successful schools are: keyed into literacy as the key to learning focussed on literacy and numeracy (intervention) recognise the worth of quality teaching, assessment and moderation.

Preparation is required to ensure that students are able to demonstrate their “TESTS” knowledge, understandings and skills in standardised tests. are a genre that students need to This is because tests have particular formats and conventions. Student confidence learn. in facing a test stems from familiarity with test formats and conditions; and from (Thelma Perso) knowing they are well prepared.

In addition, teaching students strategies to develop ‘test-wiseness’ will prevent them from missing questions they are capable of answering correctly. These strategies include ways to effectively: use time during a test; attend to directions; check answers; and use deductive reasoning.

“Research shows that The quality teaching and assessment that is central to improving student high achievement and learning is also the key preparation for students’ success in tests. high test scores result when what is tested is Structured and explicit teaching of the Essential Learnings (within the woven into daily teaching and challenging Varsity College Curriculum) is the best test preparation. curriculum in a relevant manner” It develops the required Knowledge and Understanding and particularly the higher-order Routman, R. 2005 p245 thinking skills and comprehension skills needed for the Ways of Working specified in the Essential Learnings.

The very best preparation is a Preparation through the curriculum broad balanced curriculum delivered every day A deep understanding of key curricular concepts and underlying principles with high standards and critical thinking. provides the basis for reflecting on and responding to a problem. H.O.T. S/ WOW. In taking tests, students need different types of thinking skills to apply  Higher Order Thinking Skills their knowledge and understanding effectively in answering questions.  Ways of Working These include: recall; analysis; comparison; inference; and evaluation.

Being able to apply their knowledge (e.g. by analysing, synthesising and evaluating) enables students to successfully answer unfamiliar questions they may encounter in a test.

A focus on higher-order thinking skills

Success in standardised tests requires higher-order thinking. Higher-order thinking involves the transformation of information and ideas. This transformation occurs when students combine facts and ideas and synthesise , generalise , explain , hypothesise , infer or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation .

Manipulating information and ideas through these processes allows students to solve problems, gain understanding and discover new meaning. The QCAR Essential Learnings incorporate these thinking skills in the Ways of Working for all Key Learning Areas (KLAs). They describe the rigorous ways students are expected to apply their knowledge and understanding.

For example:

Ways of working in SOSE is primarily about the Inquiry process, which is the process of inquiry that includes planning an investigation, gathering and organising information and evidence, interpreting and evaluating information and presenting and communicating results for an appropriate audience. Through the Ways of working in Science, students come to recognise that science is a distinctive way of knowing – a way of viewing and interpreting experience and of constructing knowledge that complements the perspectives developed in other areas of the curriculum. Science is a way of working with information and knowledge. Doing science involves posing questions, planning and conducting investigations, collecting and analysing evidence and communicating findings. Science is concerned with evaluating investigations and claims and making valid conclusions. In mathematics, students are encouraged to work mathematically and communicate perceptions based on intuitive, inductive and deductive reasoning. It is expected that students will be able to work independently as well as investigate in teams or groups working cooperatively and collaboratively towards shared goals.

And through the Ways of working in English, students develop, individually and collaboratively, to interpret and construct texts by applying their knowledge of audience, subject matter and purpose and their understanding of language elements and literary and non- literary texts. They come to understand the interconnectedness between speaking, listening, reading, viewing, writing and designing, and how they see themselves as users of English.

Students need to develop the mental habits that facilitate critical thinking and problem solving. It is important that all students become accustomed to answering open-ended questions, on a regular basis. These should be questions that prompt students to analyse, infer, explain, evaluate and create new understanding.

Questions such as How does.... work? or How is…. different to …? prompt analysis, that is, breaking information into parts to explore relationships (comparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding).

Questions such as What is the best solution to….? or How could it be altered to improve....? require evaluation, that is, justifying a decision or course of action (checking, critiquing, experimenting, judging).

Questions such as What could happen if….? or Can you suggest an alternative solution?” require synthesis and creative thinking, that is, generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things (hypothesising, designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing).

Opportunities to use higher-order thinking that require students to compare, contrast, synthesise and evaluate arise in many regular learning experiences in all key learning areas and through authentic assessment tasks. These develop a variety of highly effective skills for interpreting questions in tests.

Use the key words from the table (see over) in the questions you pose for students and teach students what is expected from them when they are encountered in test questions. Bloom's Taxonomy Verbs Use verbs aligned to Bloom's Taxonomy to create discussion questions and lesson plans that ensure your students' thinking progresses to higher levels. Lower Order Thinking Higher Order Thinking

Knowledge Comprehend Apply Analyse Synthesise Evaluate Count Classify Act Break down Adapt Appraise Define Cite Administer Characterize Anticipate Argue Describe Conclude Articulate Classify Categorize Assess Draw Convert Assess Compare Collaborate Choose Enumerate Describe Change Contrast Combine Compare & Find Discuss Chart Correlate Communicate Contrast Identify Estimate Choose Debate Compare Conclude Criticize Label Explain Collect Deduce Compile Critique List Generalize Compute Diagram Compose Decide Match Give examples Construct Differentiate Construct Defend Name illustrate Contribute Discriminate Contrast Evaluate Quote Interpret Control Distinguish Create Interpret Read Locate Demonstrate Examine Design Judge Recall Make sense of Determine Focus Develop Justify Recite Paraphrase Develop Illustrate Devise Predict Record Predict Discover Infer Express Prioritize Reproduce Report Dramatize Limit Facilitate Prove Select Restate Draw Outline Formulate Rank Sequence Review Establish Point out Generate Rate State Summarize Extend Prioritize Incorporate Reframe Tell Trace Imitate Recognize Individualize Select View Understand Implement Research Initiate Support Write Interview Relate Integrate Include Separate Intervene Inform Subdivide Invent Instruct Make up Paint Model Participate Modify Predict Negotiate Prepare Organize Produce Perform Provide Plan Relate Pretend Report Produce Select Progress Show Propose Solve Rearrange Transfer Reconstruct Use Reinforce Utilize Reorganize Revise Rewrite Structure Substitute Validate BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY Creating Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing

Evaluating. Justifying a decision or course of action

Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging Analysing Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships Comparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding

Applying Using information in another familiar situation Implementing, carrying out, using, executing

Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts Interpreting, summarising, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining Remembering ApplyingRecalling information Recognising,Using information listing, describing, in another retrieving, familiar situation Implementing,naming, carrying finding out, using, executing General test-taking skills “TESTS” are a genre that Some general test-taking skills can be practiced so that students are not students need to disadvantaged by not knowing the mechanics of tests. learn. (Thelma Perso) Being familiar with test formats

To ensure students are familiar with the test formats: EXPOSE . include some well-constructed multiple-choice items in your STUDENTS TO classroom assessment . have students use separate answer sheets on several tests CLOZE & throughout the year MULTIPLE . impose time limits on several tests throughout the year so that CHOICE. students can learn to pace their progress.

Students need to:

. practice with different question types, in different content areas, and at an easy level first . become familiar with the various types of writing prompts they may find on a test and be able to identify the type of writing being asked for (e.g. narrative, descriptive, procedural, persuasive).

Students should have the opportunity to Practice “Test Conditions”

. separate desks . silence . reading and acting on questions and instructions (without asking) . working to a time limit

Developing test-taking skills Students can: . work in pairs to identify what the different questions are asking, and write paraphrased versions. . As a class, discuss which interpretations would help and which would lead them astray . discuss reasons for correct answers − particularly to items selected by the teacher to demonstrate specific principles of deductive reasoning. To practice using the text to pick an answer, students can: . underline parts of the passage that might be asked in the questions . read the questions first then develop scavenger-hunt-type lists of things to look for as they read the passages . mark the passage in order to make it easier to go back to find or check specific parts, including writing key words in the margins and circling or underlining . using an index card to block out distracting print or to act as a placeholder. DON’T LEAVE Students should know time-management strategies such as: . answer easier questions and those that consume less time BLANKS!! first Qld’s ‘skip-rate’ . return to the more difficult ones later. was very high. To avoid errors, students should learn to: . pay careful attention to directions to determine the type of task and the intended basis for response . pay careful attention to the items to determine the nature of the question . read stimulus material carefully throughout, checking for the meaning rather than superficially scanning or reading selectively . consider the possibility that the answer containing an unfamiliar word may be the correct choice . narrow down the likely answers through a process of elimination, then use reason to choose between the two last possibilities rather than merely picking one over another.

Students should learn to check answers effectively by:

. only checking those problems where they are unsure . taking a short break before checking answers . checking answers to troublesome questions using a new strategy to avoid reusing faulty problem- solving methods. Reducing student anxiety

Overly anxious students do not perform well on tests. This is especially true for students who expect to do poorly, because of either poor self-image or low teacher expectations.

A supportive classroom atmosphere can reassure students. The actual test setting should be as similar as possible to the normal daily environment. Familiar teachers should administer the tests in the students’ usual classrooms.

In addition, students can regularly practice stress-relieving techniques such as stretching, conscious relaxation, deep breathing, in-place isometrics, and/or light exercise prior to test taking.

Inappropriate test-preparation strategies

Some strategies are inappropriate or ineffective and are to be avoided.

. Focussing teaching on the test content is only appropriate as part of developing the range of knowledge and skills specified in the Essential Learnings.

. Too much time spent on procedural skills such as drills or practice with tests, with little connection to conceptual understanding and qualitative reasoning, can distract students and encourage them to memorise procedures and to search for a single path to a single answer.

Test preparation is never a two week period; the best preparation is all year in our teaching – where we set high expectations, address Ways of Working and explicitly teach higher order thinking skills. Numeracy is the ability to bridge the gap between Numeracy Strategies “mathematics” and “the real world” Knowing a lot of mathematics isn’t “Numeracy is everybody’s business”. The real application of sufficient mathematics is outside the mathematics classroom.

Some everyday strategies include:

. Focusing on Ways of Working: it is vital that students are able to Do your students work mathematically. understand the language of maths? . Teaching higher order thinking skills; Do they have mathematical literacy? . Implementing mathematics investigations to promote problem solving and question posing;

. Modelling how to read maths problems; e.g.,

. Ask, “What can you think of that reminds you of this problem?” . Practise underlining the relevant words, the ones that are important to solving the problem. . Prioritise – teach students to ask, “What are the most important things?”; . Think and Link - ask the students, “Can you ask any other questions to do with this problem?” . Think visually – ask the students to draw a picture to represent the problem.

. Making explicit processes for using maths 1. Clarify (comprehension) 2. Choose (mathematics strategies) 3. Use (do the maths) 4. Interpret (use common sense) 5. Communication (explain, justify, reflect) Symbolic Visual

. Providing students with opportunities in EVERY LESSON to use concrete materials to help them build the visualisation structures that they require to comprehend a problem. Literal

. It is important that teachers explicitly teach the meaning and show examples in context, of words or phrases that are critical for students to understand the question. For example:

MORE TEST TIPS

The tests assess aspects of the learning at a particular juncture and students are being tested in May before they have completed the juncture. They should have had some experiences with all Essential Learnings for their particular juncture.

Some students may not fully understand all concepts but will have had opportunities to consolidate their conceptual development.

Ways to assist students to manage the testing situation may also need to be addressed. Some suggestions or tips for students during the actual test include:

. Read each question carefully, identifying key words to determine what mathematical conceptual understanding and ways of working are required and try to determine an answer before looking at the choices (mental computation strategies are helpful here);

. Underline key words;

. Read all the choices and consider which options are reasonable;

. Make sure that all forms of the information provided are considered/reviewed e.g. words, charts, pictures, labels, and graphs;

. Draw a diagram on your working paper;

. Check your calculations and whether the answer is reasonable given the numbers provided and the context of the situation;

. Ask the teacher to clarify the instructions and not the questions.

Other information to help teachers prepare students for the Numeracy test/s is provided by the Queensland Studies Authority, 3 5 7 9 Test Preparation Handbook and Test Administration Guide. Teachers can use items from the Assessment bank and associated support resources provided by the QSA. http://www.naplan.edu.au/naplan_2008_tests/naplan_2008_tests.html What is critical for numeracy?

 interpret numbers when they are used CRITICAL CONTENT for different purposes Deep understanding of place value and fractions are the major  understand how numbers can be building blocks of numeracy. expressed Thelma Perso 2009  use estimation techniques appropriately to make and check calculations  use a variety of calculation methods  choose and use appropriate technology  use the language of measurement appropriate to the task  choose and use measuring tools and instruments appropriate to the task  use estimation techniques  use measurement techniques to solve problems  recognise that some measures are obtained by combining two or more other measures  recognise and describe common shapes  use shapes appropriate to the task  choose and use appropriate equipment for a particular purpose  recognise and interpret the conventions of visual representation  use spatial techniques to solve problems  recognise and understand that part chance plays in everyday life  recognise and interpret estimates of chance events  judge the quality and appropriateness of data collection  understand and use common methods of summarising and displaying data  make and question judgements based upon data presented  make predictions based upon data presented. Literacy Strategies

The 3579 Test Reporting Handbook 2008 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an indispensable resource for understanding the demands of the NAPLAN test.

The Handbook: . describes the language conventions tested, specific demands of Reading items and a commentary on the demands of the writing task; . advises on the use of student, class and school reports. Developing reading comprehension skills

Reading comprehension involves the ability to ask and answer reasonable questions about any text. Students require specific strategies to read and comprehend a wide range of texts and must be able to transfer these skills across all Key Learning Areas. For example, students need to be able to comprehend, interpret and engage with texts as diverse as scientific reports, short stories, causal explanations, newspaper reports, procedures, historical accounts and arguments.

Key genres used as stimulus in the past and as samples this year include:

book covers, poster, excerpts from fiction and non-fiction books including illustrations, poetry, maps, recipes, road signs, instructions, cartoons, web-pages, magazine feature articles, letters.

Students should be accessing and analysing a variety of text-types in daily Guided Reading.

Key reading comprehension skills required for NAPLAN (and beyond!)

Two sets of factors affect students’ reading and comprehension.

. One set of factors is concerned with the complexity of the texts and includes the quality, clarity and density of the text. . The other set of factors is concerned with the reading skills demanded by the task as students draw on their prior knowledge of the subject matter and their knowledge of the text structures and features.

The QSA says that students should recognise in the stimulus materials:  purposes for which texts are used  contexts in which they are used  structure of visual texts.

The reading skills students need when comprehending texts of the text complexity relevant to their year level include:

. identify the main purpose of a text . identify the possible audience of a text . identify the main idea in a text . identify the order of events, ideas and information in texts . locate directly-stated information in the written text and/or illustrations . make connections between ideas and information in a text . draw conclusions about ideas and information in a text . interpret the meaning of unfamiliar phrases, words and symbols . interpret figurative and literal language in non-literary and literary texts . interpret diagrams and illustrations . identify the function of textual features. What is comprehension?

The task of comprehension has been described as being:

. literal, . inferential . and creative.

To extract information i.e. to be information literate and to use higher order thinking are all key parts of this test and MUST be explicitly taught.

Framework showing the relationship between levels of comprehension, question types and strategies students might use

Level of Question type The reader is asked to: comprehension Literal Recall Recognise or recall information. Show Translation Change information into a different form – understanding of it might involve paraphrasing the ideas or explicitly stated restating them in terms or forms other information than those in the text. Inferential Interpretation Identify the relationships among ideas, Show definitions, facts and values – these understanding of would involve such relationships as implicitly stated comparisons, cause and effect – they information involve a minimum of higher order thinking as the reader/learner needs only to respond to and manipulate ideas in the text. Higher order Application Solve real-life problems by extrapolating Show inferential what is in the text – readers/learners understanding of need to combine ideas from the text with the sociocultural prior knowledge. and situational Logical analysis Analyse and judge the quality of the logic contexts in the inherent in the text – readers/learners construction of a might, for example identify fallacies or text particular points of view represented in a text. Creative Synthesis Respond to a problem or idea with original and creative thinking Evaluation Make judgements with respect to specific criteria.

For the full text go to: A framework for describing reading materials http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/assessment/3579_describing_read_items.pdf and A guide for selecting stimulus materials http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/assessment/3579_selecting_stimulus.pdf Strategies for predicting

Teach students:

how to use the title of the stimulus materials to make predictions about the purpose, content and form of the stimulus text. Have children ask questions like

Where have I • What is this about? seen this • What do I need to think about? before? • What do I already know? • What do I need to know? • Where have I seen texts like this before? • What do I think I am going to be asked about?

to use textual features such as headings or visual information such as pictures or diagrams to extend, rethink or even confirm their predictions. Headings and other signposts give information about how the ideas are being linked and as well as the relative importance of ideas.

Visual information is a feature of many modern-day texts. Not only do these augment the written information, they frequently carry the primary or significant levels of meaning.

A good prediction strategy is to read the visual aspects of the text such as diagrams or photographs first. Then students should read the text to confirm, rethink or extend the predictions they have made.

For older students, a prediction strategy suited to the testing situation is to have them read a few questions first. Students need practice to develop a sense of just how many questions they can hold in their heads before they begin to read. For this strategy, students also need to develop an understanding that questions operate differently. They need to predict what kind of question it is and therefore how it might be answered. Where do I find the answer?

This strategy developed by Raphael (1982) asks students to infer the demands of the questions before they begin to read. It teaches them to identify types of questions and to determine the sources of information in the text to answer questions. Raphael and other researchers claim that students who use this strategy are better able to answer comprehension questions.

Raphael described four relationships: • right there in the text • think and search • author and you • on your own

Right there questions can be answered by information that is explicitly stated in the Is the answer text. right there in These are called text-explicit questions. the text? The reader simply needs to locate the information.

The answers to think and search questions are not directly stated in the text. Do I need to think about the Information that is there needs to be interpreted, or linked together to reach an answer. information in the text? These questions are called text-implicit.

Both these questions use information that is IN THE BOOK. The last two questions ask readers to draw on their own experience.

The answers to these questions are either wholly or partially drawn from information that is IN THE READER’S HEAD.

The answer to author and you questions can be found by using information that is partly in the text. What do I already know The information that is in the text suggests what prior knowledge a reader should use to about make sense of the text and sometimes, what links they should make. medieval times? The answer to on your own questions is not in the text.

Readers are expected to use their own knowledge about what goes on in the world to ‘read between the lines’.

These are often the most difficult questions.

They ask readers to make judgments, or evaluate or form opinions.

 Not every thing can go in the text.

 Authors make judgments about the prior knowledge of the audience for which they are writing.

 They assume some background knowledge.

 Then they build on this assumption and make explicit in the text information they judge to be new or important to the reader.

 This means that not all the information a reader needs is within the text in front of them.

Some information will be entirely outside the text, some will be partially within the text, and some will be explicitly stated.

NAPLAN Writing Task The writing will be assessed on ten criteria shown in the table below.

The writing criteria descriptors in the marking guide are summarised here: Criteria Score Description Audience 6 The writer’s capacity to orient, engage and affect the reader. Text Structure The organisation of narrative features including orientation, complication and 4 resolution into an appropriate and effective text structure. Ideas The creation, selection and crafting of ideas for a narrative. 5 Character and Character – the portrayal and development of character. Setting – the Setting 4 development of a sense of a place, time and atmosphere. Vocabulary The range and precision of language choices. 5 Cohesion The control of multiple threads and relationships over the whole text, achieved 4 through the use of referring words, substitutions, word associations and text connectives. Paragraphing The segmenting of text into paragraphs that assist the reader to negotiate the 2 narrative. Sentence The production of grammatically correct, structurally sound and meaningful Structure 6 sentences. Punctuation The use of correct and appropriate punctuation to aid the reading of the text. 5 Spelling The accuracy and range of spelling. 6 For expansion and explanation of the above criteria go to http://www.naplan.edu.au/test_samples/writing/writing.html

WRITING STRATEGIES (tips from a test marker) Text Structure To score more than 3 (out of 6) story must have Orientation/ Complication including at least 3 events / resolution at the end and write a whole page (yr 3 lines are more spaced out than the 5,7 but the standard for 4,5,6 is still a page or more) If there is no definite ending to a story markers are not allowed to give more than 2 / 6 More complicated story structures, done well get higher marks (eg circle story structure). Direct more able writers in this direction Spelling Attempting to spell more challenging unfamiliar words scores more spelling marks than staying safe and only using simple familiar words. Paragraphing Markers have been instructed to accept // or [ as editing marks to indicate where a new paragraph is needed. Missing a line is the ultimate though. Punctuation Avoid direct speech esp younger ones unless they are sure they can do it well.

Sharing this rubric with the students and further explaining and expanding each of the criteria is an ideal way to improve their narrative writing skills and encourage assessment as learning. Some advice from A QSA workshop in 2007

““Genre” has diverted attention from good writing. This focus has killed all creativity, all vocabulary.” Tests are looking at ability of children to write. Only one part of the test focuses on genre, the rest is writing.

Give a short, sharp intro to Writing Task – don’t go on and on – “Let them write” is key advice.

NAPLAN National Achievement Bands Writing Score Range For each of the assessed aspects of literacy and numeracy there is a continuous scale of student achievement across ten national band levels. Outlined in this table are the raw scores accumulated from the writing rubric aligned with the National Achievement Band levels Students whose results are of minimal standard have demonstrated the basic skills of writing at that year level. The Australian Mean identified in this table is the average achievement score of all students in each year level for 2008.