Press Releases

Bloum is releasing two new features to help schools better interpret and utilise NAPLAN data with its November update to the platform. 

The new Equivalent Year Level feature translates NAPLAN Scale Scores into an expected year level where the average student will achieve an equivalent Scale Score. 

For example, a Scale Score of 400 in reading translates to an Equivalent Year Level of 2.3. This means an average student a few months into Grade 2 will be able to achieve a score of 400 should they sit the NAPLAN exam. 

Meanwhile, the Years of Progress feature takes an individual student’s progress over successive NAPLAN exams and translates the difference in Scale Scores into a metric to measure student progression. 

If a student scores 409 in numeracy in Year 3 and improves to 515 by Year 5, this 106-point increase represents 2.5 Years of Progress, meaning the student is progressing ahead of schedule.

You can find an example of the two new metrics below. For a complete explanation, head to our blog post here:

Head of Bloum Clancy Merrett says the two new metrics come as a welcome addition to schools by addressing a significant pain point with NAPLAN data usage. 

‘NAPLAN data has always been tricky to interpret for schools, but it becomes a massive problem when you have hundreds of students with data to mine through,’ Merrett says. ‘Many teachers end up never using NAPLAN data in their classroom practice.’ 

Merrett believes the new updates will help teachers better visualise and understand NAPLAN Scale Scores. 

‘The advantage of the Bloum learning analytics platform is that it does all of the work for you. It allows teachers to use their time building effective strategies for their classrooms rather than reading the pages and pages of raw data.’ 

The new features will be automatically integrated into the Bloum platform. 

Bloum has been announced as a Finalist in the 2021 ARN Innovation Awards from a pool of over 470 nominees. 

The final award ceremony is scheduled to be held on December 9 at The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). 

Now in its 15th year, the ARN Innovation Awards are an annual awards ceremony that celebrates organisations and individuals who have achieved excellence and innovation in ICT over the previous 12 months. 

The Bloum team is excited to be announced as a finalist in only its first year of operation. 

‘Being nominated for the ARN Innovation Awards is an incredible honour among such a competitive field in a difficult year,’ Head of Bloum Clancy Merrett said. ‘It’s a great sign of confidence that our product is on the right track and that we can genuinely fulfil our mission to help schools become more student-centric.’ 

There are eight separate categories in the ARN Innovation Awards, spanning Partner Innovation, Tech Innovation, Australia-wide Innovation, Start-up Innovation, Personal Innovation, Vendor Innovation, Distributor Innovation and Hall of Fame. 

Each year the awards recognise companies from all corners of the ICT industry, including start-ups, managed service providers, consultancies, software vendors, telecommunications providers and many more. 

Finalists will be selected by an executive judging panel of recognised business leaders and announced on December 9.