A $261 million plan to help the state's struggling primary school students improved their attitude to learning and lifted reading and numeracy levels, but had no "measurable impact" on their year 3 NAPLAN results, a new evaluation of the five-year program reveals.
About 20 per cent of all NSW schools, including public, Catholic and independent, were involved in the program, which targeted communities with the lowest-achieving students in the state. The schools were chosen based on measures including their NAPLAN results and level of disadvantage.
The state government launched the NSW Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan in 2012, which included 41,392 kindergarten to year 2 (K-2) students in 448 schools.
"The action plan aimed to increase the literacy and numeracy outcomes for students in the targeted schools, and to reduce the influence of socio-economic status as a key determinant of students' academic performance," an evaluation report into its effectiveness said.
Data analysed as part of the evaluation showed there was a "mixed view" on the impact of the plan on student results.
"On the one hand, the K-2 assessment data showed incontrovertibly across all three sectors that a substantially greater proportion of students involved were reaching the expected end of year standards in targeted schools in 2016 than at the commencement of the action plan," the report said.
Principals reported a noticeable growth in students' engagement in learning, enjoyment of learning and positive attitudes towards literacy and numeracy.
"The importance of the increase in student engagement should not be under-estimated as a precursor for later improvement in learning outcomes," the report said.
"Indeed, as several recent Australian Council for Educational Research reports illustrate, poor student engagement appears to be a significant factor contributing to the declining performance of Australian students in international assessment programs."
But the report said that while some students in the program finished year 2 with a stronger foundation in reading and early arithmetic, there remained an "unacceptably high" number of students who were still lagging behind, particularly in comprehension and writing skills.
"While the overwhelming majority of students, even those who were below expectations, did achieve some progress each year, the rate of progression of those who were falling behind remains a concern," the report said.
When it came to year 3 NAPLAN results, there was no significant change over time for the full cohort of participating schools, and no significant closing of the gap between schools involved in the plan and those who were not.
"Schools cannot continue to dismiss their NAPLAN results as an aberration, but need to become more sophisticated in analysing the causes of under-achievement and more importantly, how to effectively respond to this diagnosis," the report says.
It said while a significant number of students in targeted schools improved in literacy and numeracy across kindergarten to year 2, there was still a significant number who are "below average" and who remain below average in terms of NAPLAN results.
"The apparent disparity between the improving K-2 results and the static NAPLAN results requires further consideration in the implementation of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, 2017 - 2020," the report says.
