NAPLAN

To view our results go to the MySchools site

While it is true that our results in this Australia wide testing have been extremely pleasing, we recognise that such tests provide only a narrow window on all that a school does.

Montessori schools focus on the total development of the child - social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual.

The NAPLAN tests and results only focus on numeracy and literacy skills and cannot provide a comprehensive measure of a school's performance.

Individualised learning, personal growth, allowing children to reach their potential and the provision of a nurturing and caring environment are aspects of schooling highly valued by our families and are things not easily measured.

However, despite the limitations of such a system, it is only fair to celebrate such a positive outcome for our school and to speculate on the factors that have contributed to this.

Three significant factors are:

• The school's culture in which teachers, the children and their parents have a common belief system about schooling and work together to achieve meaningful goals
• The dedication and expertise of our teachers in the delivery of our Montessori curriculum
• The early introduction to positive and productive schooling habits for many of our students who come to the school from our Toddler and Preschool programs

Our 2009 NAPLAN results validate the program we offer in a learning environment that allows children to do their best.

Our NAPLAN results since then allow us to compare the progress of each cohort over time and reflect on the curriculum we offer.

The tests in themselves, and the diagnostic data they provide are very good, and it has been gratifying to see how well our children have done in these. Last year?s results were excellent. This high level of achievement can be attributed to a number of factors, including the value placed on a Montessori education by our parents and the dedicated approach our teachers have to their work. For us as a school the data becomes most useful as we look at results over time. By way of example, through comparing the performance of our Year 3s in 2008 with Year 5 results in 2010 and then the Year 7 results in 2012, a picture emerges of how successful our programs are in the 5 areas tested and whether they are meeting children?s needs as they progress through the school.

However, it must be emphasised that the tests only provide a narrow window on what schools are about and it is not productive to compare schools with one another. We have to keep our eye on the big picture as we approach our work with children to help them emerge into the well-rounded, self-disciplined, community minded, talented human beings they were born to become.

NB - The MySchool website does not record data if the cohort has less than 5 students.

Please see the image above for a comparison of Southern Montessori results.