Scholarships for year 5 and standardised tests

As an academic institution a school has a primary responsibility to deliver the required curriculum of subjects in the best way possible.  Testing gauges the progress of the students, and the success of the school’s ability to teach. 

There are many forms of testing, the most obvious being paper and pencil tests set either by the teacher, or by an outside body. These latter tests are usually normed to an objective standard, which compares individuals and groups to a standardized measure.  Such is NAPLAN which compares all 3^rd and 5^th class children, in Australia, in NSW, and in similar schools.  Our NAPLAN results have been consistently above average.

Last year we secured the services of Robert Allwell and Co to test 2^nd and 4^th class children.  This gives us the same metric for these classes as NAPLAN does for 3^rd and 5^th class.  And, again, the results have been encouraging.  We can use these results to track an individual child’s progress: are they maintaining their standard; or falling back; or streaking ahead?  Is a class maintaining its overall standard?  We can now objectively assess these matters.

We also use the 4^th class test as a scholarship test for the children in 4^th class moving into their last two senior years with us.  We select the top students (maximum of three) and offer a half or quarter academic scholarship for 5^th and 6^th class.  This is also offered to new students who are welcome to come and sit the 4^th class test for a small fee; and, if their results warrant it, we are happy to offer scholarships on the same basis.

These Robert Allwell tests will be run on 31st July 2013.  If you know anyone from another school, who might be interested, please pass on our details.  The application form is on our website.