Literacy

Literacy Achievements 2023

Explicit Teaching of Reading

The 2023 NAPLAN results indicate continued improvement in reading, with approximately two-thirds of Year 9 students in the top two Proficiency Bands - Exceeding and Strong. WBHS has maintained a clear focus on improving reading skills throughout 2023, with teachers prioritising the explicit teaching of reading in Stage 4 and Stage 5.

Student achievement data from external tests including 2023 Year 9 Check-In Reading Assessments, 2023 Year 8 Check-In Reading Assessments and 2023 NAPLAN tests have affirmed our strengths and weaknesses in literal and inferential comprehension and which reading skills needed to be targeted for improvement. Ongoing areas of focus include subject specific vocabulary, connecting ideas, main idea, audience and purpose. Additionally, in 2023 WBHS has expanded the literacy focus to encompass explicit teaching of writing strategies to improve fluency and cohesion, beginning with the trial of Quick Writes in the English faculty.

Throughout 2023, members of the WBHS literacy team analysed NAPLAN and check-in data to develop targeted literacy activities for faculties including PDHPE, TAS, and LOTE. In addition to the whole school focus on tailoring Super Six reading strategies to each KLA’s needs in explicit reading lessons, Cultures of Thinking routines were trialled with the aim of facilitating student engagement and proved particularly effective as a complement to existing explicit teaching strategies.

Teachers also continued aligning NAPLAN style reading questions with Super Six strategies with the aim of developing comprehension questions that target the specific question types which students find most difficult. Stage 4 and 5 programs across all KLAs were revised to embed appropriate teaching and learning resources to support student achievement. In Terms 2 and 3, the English faculty implemented a range of Cultures of Thinking routines paired with explicit teaching of reading to develop the capacity of Year 8 students identified through Term 2 Check-In Reading results. Year 8 students’ results from Term 4 Check-in Reading assessments indicate positive effects of these interventions, evidenced in better than Similar Schools Group growth throughout 2023.

2023 Check-in Assessment Reading Assessments Expanded

In 2023, Check-in Reading Assessment programs include Year 7 in Term 4, Year 8 in Terms 2 and 4, and Year 9 in Term 4. These optional online reading (and numeracy) assessments are a useful way to track student performance and progress and supplement existing school assessment practices.

This complements the suite of literacy assessments that provide checks along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading and writing. These include Best Start Year 7, Year 7 and 9 NAPLAN and HSC Minimum Standards.

Improved student performance in literacy is a key pillar of the Warners Bay High School Improvement Plan 2021-2024. As evident from the outline of our work above, our school is committed to continuous improvement. Lessons learnt from 2023 will guide our work to ensure that every student, every teacher, every leader and every school improves every year. (NSW DoE Strategic Plan)