‘Not good enough’: NAPLAN test failure run by same company as selective school chaos

The technology company behind both last week’s NAPLAN meltdown and the selective school exam chaos that sparked a riot police response has the green light to run both until 2030, and there is no sign the government will abandon its contracts.

Janison Education is again under fire after three major exams were disrupted in 48 hours last week, when technical failures disrupted the NAPLAN writing exam last Wednesday and two high-stakes accounting exams were affected.

Students in years 5, 7, and 9 were blocked from logging onto the online platform, forcing the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority to temporarily halt exams.

While tests were moved to the afternoon or later in the week, some children who retook the test had the same writing question, leading parents to worry about the validity of the results.

Despite the repeated failures, the NSW Department of Education and ACARA are standing by their contracts with Janison, worth a combined $69 million.

In 2023, Janison secured a $24 million agreement to run NAPLAN, followed in 2024 by a $45 million contract to operate NSW’s selective school and opportunity class exams. Both contracts run until at least 2030.

Dani Hacket, whose son Xavier was disrupted by both the selective school test last year and NAPLAN this year, said: “It’s just not good enough.

“It’s not fair, students are under enough pressure. You would think they would anticipate it. I think they should go back to the paper-based test.”

Sydney parent Ping, who declined to provide her surname to protect her child’s privacy, questioned the validity of this year’s NAPLAN and said she worried about upcoming selective school tests given they are run by the same company.

“What has blown me away about this is that nobody at any level or in any coverage is asking questions about the obvious lack of validity in this writing test as a result of the fault,” she said.

“The retesting conditions were so varied that the results are simply not accurate. They should not be used.

“My child was distressed to the point of tears, not because of their experience of the test itself, but because of the unfairness of the conditions.”

NSW Education Minister Prue Car described the latest disruptions as “unacceptable” but said while the provider was the same, the platforms used for NAPLAN and selective tests were different.

Despite the repeated issues, the department has committed to online testing.

When asked if it would continue its contract given the latest technical failures, the department said Janison is contracted to design, deliver and administer the selective education placement tests.

ACARA said in a statement it was working with test administration authorities to make sure all schools are provided with support and advice to minimise any impact on students.

“We have measures in place to ensure students are not disadvantaged as a result of this technical issue.”

Last year’s selective school tests were marred by what was described as “significant failures” when they were held online at mega-centres for the first time.

A combination of logistical and 131 technological failures meant tests spiralled into chaos as thousands of parents and students were caught in huge crowds, tests were delayed, exams were cancelled and children were left in tears.

The chaos was so severe the riot squad was deployed to manage crowds, and nearly 900 complaints were filed.

The debacle prompted a formal review and an inquiry recommended the department consider returning to pen-and-paper tests after 131 technical failures were recorded at three major test sites.

Sydney parent Jane, who wished to keep her surname private, says the excuses are wearing thin. Her son was caught in both testing failures, while her year 7 daughter experienced issues with NAPLAN.

“It was really disruptive. She was five minutes from finishing the conclusion of her story and it cut off. They had to stop, drop everything and then pick it up again in the afternoon,” Jane said.

“The efficiency is being outweighed by headaches. They don’t have the infrastructure. They don’t have it completely set up and tested to be able to handle the amount of people accessing the server.”

A Janison spokesperson apologised in a statement for NAPLAN failures and said it was “reviewing the circumstances of this incident”.

“The vast majority of assessments are delivered successfully. In programs of this scale, however, occasional issues can arise despite extensive preparation and testing. When they do, they are addressed quickly in collaboration with program partners.”

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