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The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered annually to Australian students. These standardized tests assess students' reading, writing, language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy and are administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The National Assessment Program is overseen by the Council of Australian Governments Education Council. NAPLAN was introduced in 2008. ACARA has managed the tests from 2010 onwards. The tests are designed to determine if Australian students are achieving outcomes. There has been a great deal of contention in the educational community as to whether the tests are appropriate, whether teachers are teaching as they normally would or teaching to the test, and what the results of the test are being used for. The data obtained from the NAPLAN tests are collated and used to show all schools' average performance against other schools in the country on the Government My School website. The tests are also designed to be carried out on the same days all across Australia in any given year. Parents are able to decide whether their children take the test or not. The vast majority of Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students participate.
