If you’re the parent of offspring in grades 3, 5, 7, or 9, your kid most likely just did something.
I don’t mean “something” like that time my son tried to press sultanas into a PowerPoint, I mean something much more special and important. NAPLAN TESTING.
The assessment is (and I lifted this directly off their website) used by governments, education authorities, and schools to determine whether young Australians are meeting important goals in literacy and numeracy…
Simple. But not really.
The problem with tests is that they don’t test everything. And if you think about it, they don’t actually test that much at all. Sure, an exam can tell you if Matilda (our Grade 3’er) can read, write, and add and subtract. It can tell you so much about that stuff.
But what it can’t tell you is that Matilda is an exceptional dancer. Her dancing blows my mind. She moves like a butterfly – it’s beautiful. Something else the NAPLAN results can’t tell you is that she draws pictures that constantly have me thinking someone much older must have drawn them – they’re incredible.
The test doesn’t tell the marker (probably a computer) that Matilda is constantly writing little notes professing her love for her mother, brother and myself. It doesn’t show that she is sweet, caring and generous. NAPLAN simply cannot highlight the real her at all. Not even close. My point (and yes, I am getting to one) is that tests and exams are hugely important in education and life in general.
No doubt about it, but they absolutely don’t define us. Our kids are so much more than a score on a piece of paper. I, like so many others, was academically shocking at school. The worst! But I landed on my feet. I even managed to turn some of what many thought were flaws (talking underwater with a mouth full of marbles) into a career. Go figure?
Big love to all the teachers and staff running our schools. You do a phenomenal job in tough conditions. And even more love to the kids sitting exams. Whenever they happen to fall, you have so much wonderful life ahead of you.
Ain’t nothing going to stop you.
Big love!
Cliffo Hit 103.5
