NAPLAN Assessment and Evaluation Methods 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the term for reporting a student's performance relative to other students in the same year level?
- Criterion-referenced reporting
- Norm-referenced reporting (Correct answer)
- Standards-referenced reporting
- Ipsative reporting
Correct answer: Norm-referenced reporting
Norm-referenced reporting compares an individual's performance to the distribution of scores from a norm group, such as a national cohort.
Question 2: The NAPLAN National Minimum Standard represents what level of achievement?
- The average achievement for students at that year level
- The minimum acceptable level of skills expected at that year level (Correct answer)
- The highest proficiency band a student can achieve
- The curriculum standard set by each state's education authority
Correct answer: The minimum acceptable level of skills expected at that year level
The National Minimum Standard defines the minimum acceptable level of knowledge and skills for students at each tested year level.
Question 3: Which statistical measure describes how spread out scores are around the mean in an assessment?
- Median
- Mode
- Standard deviation (Correct answer)
- Percentile rank
Correct answer: Standard deviation
Standard deviation quantifies the degree of variation or dispersion of scores from the mean in a data set.
Question 4: In NAPLAN's adaptive online testing format, what determines the difficulty of subsequent questions?
- The student's age and year level only
- The student's previous responses during the test (Correct answer)
- A fixed sequence pre-determined by test designers
- The teacher's recommendation before the test
Correct answer: The student's previous responses during the test
NAPLAN Online uses tailored (adaptive) testing where the difficulty of questions adjusts based on a student's responses, providing a more precise measure across the ability range.
Question 5: A school compares its Year 7 students' NAPLAN scores to their own Year 5 scores from two years earlier. This is an example of:
- Cross-sectional analysis
- Longitudinal (cohort) analysis (Correct answer)
- Benchmarking against national averages
- Item response theory calibration
Correct answer: Longitudinal (cohort) analysis
Tracking the same cohort of students across multiple NAPLAN test occasions is a longitudinal analysis, measuring individual growth over time.
Question 6: Which NAPLAN strand assesses punctuation, grammar, and spelling separately from extended writing?
- Reading
- Writing
- Language Conventions (Correct answer)
- Numeracy
Correct answer: Language Conventions
The Language Conventions domain tests spelling, grammar, and punctuation through discrete items rather than through extended writing tasks.
Question 7: What does 'washback effect' mean in the context of large-scale assessments like NAPLAN?
- The statistical correction applied to scores after marking
- The influence the assessment has on curriculum and teaching practices (Correct answer)
- The process of returning marked papers to students
- The adjustment of scores for students with disabilities
Correct answer: The influence the assessment has on curriculum and teaching practices
Washback (or backwash) refers to the way a high-stakes test influences what and how teachers teach, and what students focus on learning.
NAPLAN Assessment and Evaluation Methods 3
What is the term for reporting a student's performance relative to other students in the same year level?