Of 13 shire schools three transitioned this year to an online platform for NAPLAN assessment. However, at least nine have continued to use pen and paper tests. 

Concerns began to circulate after it became known that the online form of the NAPLAN test is scaled within the program. 

St Mary’s Primary School principal Mick Lowe said: “The online tests use an ‘adaptive testing’ regime, where items are adapted to the student’s performance.”

He believes that this improves engagement with the test and promotes a more accurate and fine-grained assessment of student ability at both the top and bottom ends of the spectrum.

According to Mr Lowe around 550 NSW schools across the different education sectors sat the online tests and the ACT was the only Australian jurisdiction with almost 100 per cent participation in the online testing program.

But with pen and paper tests still in use there are grave concerns that the 2018 results will be corrupt and the national data inequitable.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) said on Friday, August 10 that an emergency meeting of the Australian Education Senior Officials Committee (AESOC) found the data to be “valid and comparable” but some Eurobodalla schools remain unconvinced.

“The challenge was always going to be how you could compare the results from the two different testing methods. I do not think that there is any real way to do this fairly,” said Carroll College assistant principal John O’Neill.

And St Peter’s Anglican College principal Darren McPartland agrees.

“I believe the hysteria that is building around the testing is something the government will not be able to ignore. This, and the issue with the testing procedure, highlights the need for the government to spend some time to evaluate the effectiveness or otherwise of both the NAPLAN testing and the My School website. This is long overdue,” he said.

This year, Carroll College, Narooma High School and Mogo Public School sat online tests. No response was forthcoming from St Bernard’s Primary School but all other schools in the Eurobodalla used pen and paper.

Of Carroll College’s decision to move online Mr O’Neill said: “We decided that as NAPLAN was going to be mandated online, we should get in at the start to ensure everything worked. As a result, all our … students sat the online tests.”

The process was not without its challenges and, according to Mr O’Neill, the move to online took a great deal of administration and preparation.

“All the students needed to sit practice tests so that they knew how to correctly navigate the test platform, each testing session needed a unique code and each student needed a unique log-in code for every test,” he said.

To test roughly 150 students across years three, five, seven and nine cost St Peter’s Anglican College just under $7000.

“I have been following the issue reported in the media that the on-line testing may not be reliable and hence unable to be compared to the pen and paper test,” Mr McPartland said.

“As NAPLAN is a national testing program where students are compared across states and sectors; a removal of a large number of students and schools would suggest that the entire test is at risk of being invalid.

“Any evaluation done must also consider the (negative) impact the testing has on students, families and school staff … I do find it fascinating that the government charges my school $45 per student for us to conduct the test for them,” he said.

According to ACARA, as this is the first year of online assessment extra attention has been given to reviewing the data and ensuring it is comparable with previous years and between online and paper test modes.

“Parents should expect to receive reports later this month or in September depending on each state or territory administration authority,” the independent statutory authority said in a statement on Monday, August 13.