NAPLAN is a test the school kids in Australia have to do every 2nd year (odd numbered grades), and is supposed to measure whether schools are performing or not. In actuality the results are dependent upon the socio-economic level of the students, and are mainly used by parents and the media to 'rank' schools based on some imaginary scale. As you can guess, I really really, really hate NAPLAN.
While abolishing all together is my preferred solution, I do offer an alternative. Replace NAPLAN with a nation wide interschool chess competition, divided into geographical zones. Results aren't necessarily based upon the scores in the tournament (although that is one factor), but instead on how many children from a school can follow basic tournament instructions and rules. Simple things like, remembering your own name, understanding that board 22 is after board 21, and my personal favourite, waiting for your opponent to turn up, instead of coming back to me and saying 'my opponent isn't there' while the opponent waits to tell you the same thing.
I feel this is a much fairer way of determining if a school is giving value for money in the field of education.
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