The Courier Mail and The Chronicle have recently published their rankings for NAPLAN. We are 8th in Toowoomba for the five year average for attainment for senior and the improvement in senior over a five year period is the second best in Toowoomba.   

The NAPLAN tests are seen as controversial by some in the educational community.  At Mary MacKillop Catholic College though, we embrace the yardstick that the NAPLAN process gives us.  Teaching and learning is our core business, and there are actually very few ways that a school can measure its own progress and success without a universal assessment against core skills. 

NAPLAN fails though when teachers (and parents!) think too much about it.  Classrooms are about learning, and tests are a part of that.  It should never be the other way around, and when schools seek to ‘teach to the test’ it makes for a dry, unrewarding and false experience – but also one where very often the result is not as successful as one would hope.   

At Mary MacKillop, we have enjoyed a steady upward trajectory in NAPLAN, which is worth celebrating.  We are very proud of this, and we appreciate the central role that parents play in setting and maintaining high expectations.  There are no quick fixes in producing excellent learning.   At Mary MacKillop, the basis of this has been a resolute focus on the essentials of good teaching and learning and a commitment to every teacher performing at their very best, every day.   

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Chris Gabbett
Principal