In what has been described as an Australian first, the certificates have been introduced by the state government to recognise excellence as well as to keep school children engaged. James Merlino, Minister for Education, said students who also achieve significantly improved results will also be awarded with certificates saying:
“It’s time to change the national debate about what student success and teacher excellence look like – education experts are consistently saying we need to celebrate the students who are making progress in their learning, not just students who are high achievers.”
He said there is a resounding message coming from principals and teachers that after having completed the NAPLAN test three times by Year 9, students deem it irrelevant and not useful. The certificates, he said, will give students a little encouragement to better engage with NAPLAN and show everyone what they are able to achieve. Printing services are often engaged to handle such a major demand for certificates.
The certificates will be awarded to Year 9 school students whose numeracy and/or reading results put them in the top band of NAPLAN achievers and will also go to those who have attained significant improvement from sitting their first test in Year 7 to their final results in Year 9.