NAPLAN Online Testing Resumes After Widespread Technical Disruption

Online NAPLAN testing for over 1.3 million Australian school students resumed on Wednesday after a widespread technical issue disrupted the digital assessment platform for several hours. The disruption, which prevented students from logging on, prompted the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to advise schools nationwide to pause testing. The issue was resolved by the technology provider, Education Services Australia, allowing assessments to recommence.

Over 1.3 million Australian school students faced disruption as a widespread technical issue halted online NAPLAN testing for several hours on Wednesday.

Technical Glitch Disrupts First Day of NAPLAN

The technical problem began around 9:20 AM AEDT on Wednesday, the first day of the annual national testing program. Students in years 5, 7, and 9, who take the tests online, were primarily affected. Reports from schools indicated students were logged out, experienced error messages such as "communication to the server has been lost," or had tests paused after a few minutes of writing.

One secondary principal reported an outage five minutes into a Year 9 writing task, leading to students being logged out and the test being abandoned at his school. Another student in Victoria reported losing connection about 20 minutes into an exam.

Students in Year 3, who complete their writing tests using pen and paper, were not affected by the online outage. Schools in Western Australia were also unaffected due to time zone differences, as testing had not yet commenced. Approximately 100,000 Queensland students in Years 5, 7, and 9 had completed their writing tests before the issue occurred.

Swift Resolution and Official Condemnations

Education Services Australia, the technology provider responsible for the online platform, urgently investigated the issue. The problem was resolved shortly after 11 AM Sydney time, and ACARA informed affected schools that testing could resume by approximately 11:30 AM. Some schools opted to postpone their assessments to a later time or day.

ACARA chief executive Stephen Gniel confirmed the resumption of testing and apologized for the disruption, acknowledging ACARA's responsibility for the testing program. Education Minister Jason Clare conveyed his disapproval to Mr. Gniel, describing the situation as unacceptable and disruptive for students, teachers, and parents. Shadow education minister Julian Leeser also contacted Minister Clare to address concerns regarding fairness for students and the potential impact on overall data integrity.

Fairness Implications and Support Protocols

Concerns were raised regarding potential fairness implications for students. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) CEO Andrew Smith stated that writing test prompts are protected to ensure fairness, regardless of when students sit the test. However, a primary school principal raised concerns that students who had brief access to an unseen writing prompt before the system crashed might gain an advantage by having time to familiarize themselves with it and plan responses.

ACARA is collaborating with Test Administration Authorities across states and territories to provide advice and support to affected schools, aiming to minimize any impact on students. Established protocols for managing such disruptions include:

• Student responses are saved if a device stops working during the test.
• Students can complete their test on another device or in a rescheduled session.
• Schools unable to complete testing on Wednesday could do so on Thursday or within the broader testing window.

ACARA's CEO rejected claims from teachers' unions that the incident indicated flaws in the tests, stating that the benefits of online testing outweigh the disadvantages. Education Services Australia is scheduled to conduct a thorough technical investigation into the incident.

NAPLAN: Background and Ongoing Debates

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It evaluates literacy and numeracy skills and is managed by ACARA.

• NAPLAN testing transitioned to an online format in 2022, with the aim of expediting the delivery of results to parents.
• Reforms agreed upon by education ministers in 2023 shifted the testing period from May to March. This earlier start time was intended to allow schools and teachers to intervene sooner with students who might be struggling.
• National NAPLAN results are typically released in July, with individual school results updated on the MySchool website in December.

Education academics have argued that NAPLAN can cause unnecessary stress for children and school communities, while teachers' unions oppose the test due to concerns that some media outlets use NAPLAN data to create school ranking league tables. Media outlets generally defend publishing these tables as being of interest to parents.