ICT literacy
The National Assessment Program – Information and Communication Technology Literacy (NAP–ICTL) commenced in 2005. Samples of Year 6 and Year 10 students participate in this assessment.
The assessment maintains a ‘futures perspective’ to ensure that the knowledge and skills assessed keep up with technological advances in ICT, and with the delivery of ICT changes in schools.
The NAP–ICTL assessment is delivered in schools via purpose-built software applications carefully designed to reflect 'real world' ICT contexts that are familiar to students. The value of students becoming ICT literate, global citizens who are creative and productive users of ICT forms the basis of the NAP–ICTL assessment domain and the development process.
The sixth cycle of NAP–ICTL was originally to have been held in 2020, with the field trial scheduled for June and the main study scheduled for October/November.
However, in June 2020, ministers decided that the scheduled NAP–ICTL sample assessment would be postponed by 12 months to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. See the Education Council communiqué.
Subsequently, in September 2021, education ministers again agreed that due to COVID-19 outbreaks and the restrictions that faced schools in several jurisdictions, NAP–ICTL would not proceed in 2021. The decision was taken to prevent uncertainty, and allow schools and families to focus on teaching and learning amid difficult ongoing circumstances.
The NAP sample assessment cycle will continue from 2022, resulting in a one-off 5-year gap (as opposed to the normal 3-year gap) in the time series for each of the sample assessments.
Students undertaking the NAP–ICTL assessment in 2022 will be tested on their ability to use ICT appropriately and safely to access, manage and evaluate information; develop new understandings; apply computational, design and systems thinking to create solutions; communicate and collaborate with others; and engage productively with emerging and future technologies.
An informational flyer for the 2022 NAP–ICTL assessment for parents and carers can be found here.
A flyer for schools can be found here.
Privacy notices for the 2022 NAP–ICTL field trial and the 2022 NAP–ICTL main study are also available.
The previous (fifth) cycle of the NAP–ICTL assessment was held between 16 October and 3 November 2017. Approximately 11,000 students in Year 6 and Year 10 from over 600 government and non-government schools from all states and territories including metropolitan, regional and remote areas participated in the online assessment.
At the end of the 2017 school year, all participating schools received information summarising their students’ performance on the test. A public report - the 2017 NAP–ICTL public report - was published in November 2018.
The 2017 NAP–ICTL public report provides nationally comparable state and territory de-identified performance data and overall trends for Year 6 and Year 10 students. The report also provides an analysis of the achievement of various sub-groups of students, including the relative achievement of boys and girls, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and students from different geographic locations and language backgrounds. In addition, the results of the student questionnaire included in the report provided an insight into students’ access to and familiarity with computers, and their interest in using computers.
ACARA's media release for the report summarises some of the report's findings and can be found here.
The 2017 NAP–ICTL report itself can be found here.