Cracking the NAPLAN Code: Numeracy in Action

In this paper, the author recommends that every teacher of mathematics should undertake an analysis using their own data. She further recommends that they reflect on the outcomes of their analysis and share it with colleagues. Teachers can look at an individual student's results, variations in results between student sub-groups in their classes, and student responses to questions from different strands. Following this, some reflection on current teaching of mathematics for numeracy attainment should be considered. A key focus of this reflection and discussion is to question whether students are being taught the deep understandings of mathematics concepts and the capacity, confidence and disposition to use them, or are they merely taught mathematics as a system of methods and procedures set in a relatively neutral context. If the latter, teachers and school leaders need to be aware that they are seriously at risk of not giving their students access to numeracy attainment. One cannot assume that students will make the connections between methods and procedures and the conceptual understandings needed for deep learning based on the fact that they've been taught the methods and procedures for finding answers.