Online NAPLAN boosts school's access

Technology has been given a boost at Bunbury Senior High School, with the school receiving 183 Macbook computers as part of an online NAPLAN trial.

The school will be participating in an online trial of the literacy and numeracy test before its nationwide electronic rollout and will also keep the computers.

Principal Susanne Vaughan said students would benefit by having experienced an online test before NAPLAN goes online from 2017.

"We thought 'why not get on board now' so students get more exposure to it and an opportunity to practise," she said.

"The difference online is really important - instead of set questions there is an enormous database and how a student responds determines their next question."

The computers, which were received late last term, will also be used day-to-day in classrooms around the school.

"This means more access to computers for every child," Ms Vaughan said.

NAPLAN is an annual nationwide test for Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students managed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, an independent authority set up by the Federal Government.

The test measures reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy skills.

Two Bunbury Senior High School classes will be selected for a random sample and about 50 students will complete the online test within the next few weeks, although the results will not be used to measure individual students.

Ms Vaughan also flagged the possibility of students completing further school assessments online, with a committee looking at how this could be implemented.

"An important thing for the school is if students have to be competent online, then we need to up skill them," she said.