"NAPLAN testing is on right now. Researchers at Charles Darwin University (CDU) critically examined NAPLAN’s narrative marking guide. We developed an alternative approach – Reading for Emotion – that redefines literacy assessment. Instead of treating reading and writing as mechanical exercises in structural correctness, this model frames reading as an intentional act of guiding the reader through an emotional journey."
In this examination of the NAPLAN writing test, the authors critically question the way writing in education is being framed as a ‘mechanical exercise’ through national testing. The authors argue that this framing denies key elements involved in the process of writing which children need to understand from the start. Their research draws on neuroscientific research that demonstrates that effective writing “orchestrates emotional shifts and engages the audience” and which is essential to an understanding of how writing works. The article calls on the need for essential shifts in the NAPLAN writing test, especially as such tests tend to ‘shape’ the ways teachers teach, and therefore how students develop and see themselves as writers.
Reference: Lian, A. & Powell, A. (2025, Mar, 17) Reading for emotion: we need more from the NAPLAN marking guide. Edu Research Matters.