Electorate data: NAPLAN (2023)
Headline electorate data |
Electorate tables |
Interpreting the data |
Methodology |
Further reading |
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Headline electorate data
This data brief presents results from the 2023 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for each NSW electorate. NAPLAN results are indicators of educational performance for four school years (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9) across five subject domains (spelling, reading, persuasive writing, numeracy, and grammar and punctuation).
The dashboard compares average NAPLAN scores for an electorate with the average NSW and national scores. It includes Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) data for the electorate, as well as schools and students in the electorate.
The NAPLAN results were provided to the NSW Parliamentary Research Service by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). This is the first time that NAPLAN results have been published at the electorate level.
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Electorate tables
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Interpreting the data
What is NAPLAN? NAPLAN is an annual census examination of all Australian students that is administered by ACARA. Exams are conducted in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in the subject domains of spelling, reading, persuasive writing, numeracy, and grammar and punctuation. Raw scores in the NAPLAN exams are converted into final scores. Some students are exempted from NAPLAN due to disability
or because they have a language background other than English. Other students
are withdrawn from NAPLAN due to the personal objection of their parents or carers. The proportion of students who do not participate for these reasons is relatively small (less than 4% in NSW).
The NAPLAN and ICSEA data relate to public, Catholic and Independent schools that are located in an electorate and not to the residential address of students. Students may live outside the electorate in which they attend school because public school catchment areas are unrelated to electoral boundaries and private schools can enrol students from any area.
Interpretive approaches
Electorate NAPLAN scores can be interpreted in four ways.
1. Comparing an electorate's NAPLAN score to the NAPLAN scores of electorates with similar ICSEA values. This comparison can be done using the electorate tables by clicking on the ICSEA value heading to sort by that column. This comparison accounts for differences in socio-educational advantage. Socio-educational advantage is an important determinant of educational performance.
2. Comparing electorate NAPLAN scores to the NSW and national NAPLAN scores.
This can be done with the dashboard which shows the numerical difference between electorate, NSW and national NAPLAN scores. This comparison provides an overview of relative performance but does not show whether there is a statistically significant difference between the electorate, NSW and national NAPLAN scores.
3. Assessing whether there is a statistically significant difference between an electorate's NAPLAN score and the national NAPLAN score. This can be done by using the 5-point colour scale that features in the NAPLAN score columns of the electorate tables. The colour representing 'close to' indicates that no statistically significant difference exists between the electorate and national NAPLAN scores. The other colours indicate a statistically significant difference. A difference that is statistically significant is not due to chance.
4. Comparing an electorate's NAPLAN score to the NAPLAN scores of other metropolitan or regional electorates. This comparison can be done using the electorate tables, which categorise the 93 electorates of NSW as metropolitan or regional. The metropolitan area includes all Sydney, Wollongong, Central Coast and Newcastle electorates; the remaining electorates are in the regional area. This comparison accounts for geographic proximity or similarity.
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Methodology
ACARA provided the NSW Parliamentary Research Service with the electorate NAPLAN scores and undertook the statistical analysis required to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between the electorate and national NAPLAN scores. The reliability of the statistical analysis is affected by the number of students in an electorate.
Based on ACARA's School Profile 2023,
an electorate's ICSEA value was calculated using the following formula: electorate ICSEA = A sum of the (school ICSEA value x total school students) for all schools in the electorate divided by the total number of students in the electorate.
Further reading
- ACARA, National Assessment Program: Results and reports,
n.d., accessed 31 May 2024.
- ACARA,
NAPLAN 2023: Commentary, 23 August 2023.
- T Gotsis and D Montoya, Electorate data: Education, Data Brief 4, 2023.
- T Gotsis, School education: An overview of challenges and reforms, Key Issues for the 58th Parliament, Research Paper 4, May 2023.
- B McGaw et al.,
NAPLAN Review: Final Report,
NSW, Victorian, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory Governments, August 2020.
- ACARA, Guide to understanding the Index of Community Socio-educational Advantage (ICSEA), 2020.
Contact us
Members and parliamentary staff can request research by emailing [email protected].
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Media contact: [email protected].
Title: Electorate data: NAPLAN (2023)
Authors: Tom Gotsis and Daniel Montoya
Contributors: The authors wish to thank the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). The authors also wish to thank Mr Steve Croft, Senior Statistician and Data Scientist at ACARA, and Ms Anita Knudsen, Senior Research Officer - Expert Engagement, NSW Parliamentary Research Service.
Publication number: Data Brief No. 2024-03
ISSN 2981-8354 (Online)
The NSW Parliamentary Research Service provides impartial research, data and analysis services for members of the NSW Parliament.
© 2024 Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior consent from the Senior Manager, NSW Parliamentary Research Service, other than by members of the New South Wales Parliament in the course of their official duties.
Any advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this publication is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This publication is not professional legal opinion.
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