VICTORIAN students are absent or withdrawing from national testing at some of the highest rates in the country, which critics say is skewing data on the My School website and inflating the state’s performance.
About 8 per cent of Victorian year 9 students and 5 per cent of students in years 3, 5 and 7 did not sit the NAPLAN tests last May.
Overall, about 90 per cent of students in Victoria were assessed in testing last year, compared with about 96 per cent in NSW. Only the Northern Territory has a worse record, federal figures show.
Yet Victoria boasts some of the best testing results in the country, with about 95 per cent of students at or above national standards in grade three.
Opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said the NAPLAN data was skewed and the Federal Government should not base funding decisions on the My School website.
”Why does Victoria have such a high number of withdrawals - are some of these students with disabilities?” Mr Dixon said. ”It begs the question whether the figures are being manipulated to keep Victoria looking like they’re doing well.”
Low turnout ‘skewing’ school test results
People keep finding fault with the data on the My School website. Don’t they understand? It’s statistics; statistics are meant to be manipulated to suit the person using the statistics. That’s how statistics work.
