Marymount Catholic Primary School, Burleigh Waters, part of the Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) network, has been an Essential Assessment (EA) subscriber since September 2023, embedding assessment for learning as a cornerstone of its data-informed teaching practice.
Serving 980 students across 38 classes, Marymount school has demonstrated a deliberate and strategic approach to using assessment data to strengthen student growth and teaching precision within the framework of BCE’s Growing and Thriving strategy.
In 2025 alone, Marymount staff have administered an impressive 17,955 Numeracy assessments and 5,833 Literacy assessments, reflecting consistent and purposeful data collection. Within Numeracy, 49.7% of assessments were pre-assessments, providing valuable baseline data to identify prior knowledge and next steps for instruction. Additionally, My Numeracy tasks (22.2%) have been actively utilised to check for understanding and consolidate learning through ongoing practice. In Literacy, the completion of 1,024 My Literacy checks (14.9%) demonstrates the school’s growing emphasis on formative assessment, which tracks progress and responds to student needs in real-time.
Building an Assessment-Capable Culture
Essential Assessment is utilised as a key tool to inform teaching and learning at Marymount Primary School. Through the analysis of formative assessment data, teachers identify areas of student strength and need, enabling targeted instruction and evidence-based practice that supports continual growth and improved student outcomes. Assessment data is directly aligned with the Australian Curriculum Version 9, ensuring that teaching practices are consistent with curriculum expectations and responsive to student learning progress.
This balanced and deliberate use of summative and formative assessments illustrates how Marymount Primary School continues to build an assessment-capable learning culture—one where teachers interpret data collaboratively, students engage with their learning progress, and feedback directly informs classroom practice. Through this approach, the school exemplifies how data can not only measure achievement, but also motivate growth, strengthen feedback loops, and sustain a culture of continuous improvement.
Highlight: Strengthening Home–School Partnerships
One standout feature at Marymount Primary School is their effective use of the Parent Update tool. This feature provides parents and caregivers with meaningful insights into their child’s learning progress, celebrating success, identifying growth areas, and highlighting future focus points. Supported by Learn Videos, these updates encourage families to engage with the learning process, building shared understanding and reinforcing key concepts at home. This partnership approach exemplifies the school’s commitment to making assessment a bridge between classroom learning and home support.
Data Story: Building a Consistent Picture of Growth
Establishing a Baseline
At the start of the 2025 school year, teachers at Marymount Primary School implemented the Number — General All assessment aligned to the Australian Curriculum v9.0, ensuring a consistent approach to identifying each student’s starting point. Pre-assessment data indicated that most cohorts were performing at, or very close to, expected curriculum benchmarks, with clear evidence of foundational understanding across Years 2 to 6. This provided a strong platform for targeted instruction and helped teachers identify extension opportunities and areas requiring additional support.
Students in Prep demonstrated achievement above the expected starting point (–1), with results centred around –0.5, indicating early readiness and a strong foundation in emerging number concepts. Year 1 students performed in line with expectations, suggesting that early numeracy programs are supporting a smooth transition into formal schooling and helping to establish core counting and patterning skills.
Mid-Year Insights
By mid-2025, the Number — General All assessment revealed that most year levels maintained steady progress in alignment with curriculum expectations. Students in Years 3 and 4 demonstrated results slightly above the mid-year benchmarks, suggesting effective consolidation of number concepts and procedural fluency. In contrast, Year 2 students showed performance slightly below expectation, indicating an opportunity to strengthen foundational understanding through explicit teaching and targeted intervention.
Overall, the mid-year results illustrate that while the school’s instructional approaches are supporting consistent progress, there is scope to further enhance growth momentum through increased opportunities for retrieval practice, spaced review, and formative assessment cycles. Teachers are encouraged to leverage My Numeracy tasks as daily review tools to reinforce key skills and deepen student retention between assessment windows.
Growth Across Semester 1, 2025
Growth data across Semester 1 shows a steady pattern of curriculum progress, with most cohorts demonstrating measurable improvement in Numeracy. Students in Years 3 to 6 recorded growth rates approaching the expected 0.5 curriculum level, while Years 2 and below showed more variable patterns, likely reflecting developmental differences in conceptual understanding and number fluency.
Although overall growth remained slightly below the expected midpoint progression, the data highlights a positive trajectory, particularly in the middle and upper years, where students are transferring prior knowledge more confidently into new learning contexts. Teachers are using this information to inform grouping strategies, differentiated instruction, and targeted reteaching opportunities that respond to identified learning gaps.
The use of My Numeracy tasks continues to be a strength, with 6,804 tasks completed in Semester 1. These tasks provide real-time insight into student thinking and support spaced practice, retrieval reinforcement, and formative feedback cycles, all essential for building durable understanding over time. This consistent engagement reflects a growing culture of assessment capability, where both students and teachers view assessment as an ongoing dialogue about learning, rather than a single point in time.
Formative Practice and Impact
Alongside summative progress, teachers have demonstrated a strong commitment to formative assessment practice. The completion of over 6,800 My Numeracy and 1,024 My Literacy tasks reflects an embedded habit of checking for understanding, using data to adjust instruction, and promoting assessment-capable learners who can reflect on their progress and identify their next steps. This formative focus has helped create more adaptive classrooms, where teachers can respond in real time to misconceptions, and students are more engaged in their own learning journey.
Whole-School Summary
Prep (Foundation)
Prep students began the year performing above the expected starting point. This is a positive indicator of early number awareness, suggesting strong readiness as students enter formal schooling. No mid-assessment or growth data is available for this cohort, but early results confirm the value of explicit instruction in counting principles, subitising, and number comparison as essential building blocks for ongoing numeracy success.
Year 1
Year 1 students performed in line with expectations at the beginning of the year, maintaining steady performance through Semester 1. Although growth remained modest, it was consistent, reflecting secure conceptual understanding. Continued emphasis on daily review, automaticity, and My Numeracy formative checks will strengthen skill consolidation and support measurable growth in Semester 2.
Year 2
Students in Year 2 began slightly below expectation, but demonstrated strong recovery, achieving near the mid-year benchmark. Growth was positive and approached the expected 0.5 curriculum-level gain, confirming the impact of explicit teaching and targeted review cycles. This progress positions students well for the increasing complexity of addition, subtraction, and early multiplicative reasoning.
Year 3
Year 3 students performed at or slightly above expectation at both assessment points, demonstrating retention and transfer of prior learning. Their steady growth reflects the effectiveness of cumulative teaching sequences and structured review. Continuing to embed retrieval practice and Flexi-based formative assessment will deepen conceptual understanding and long-term mastery.
Year 4
The Year 4 cohort began below expectation but achieved significant growth by mid-year, closing much of the attainment gap. This upward trend suggests effective differentiation and the impact of targeted intervention. Ongoing focus on multiplicative thinking and conceptual links across strands will help consolidate these gains and sustain growth through Semester 2.
Year 5
Students in Year 5 began below expected levels and recorded limited growth, highlighting the need for focused attention in fractions, place value, and proportional reasoning. Strategic use of My Numeracy for diagnostic checks and explicit follow-up teaching will be key to improving outcomes and re-establishing momentum in the second half of the year.
Year 6
Year 6 students achieved results close to or at expectation across both points of measurement, indicating steady progress and cumulative understanding of number and algebraic concepts. To extend achievement, teachers can focus on problem-solving fluency, reasoning tasks, and self-reflection routines to support students’ transition to secondary school.
Whole-School Findings
Across Marymount Primary School, pre-assessment data established clear baselines closely aligned with curriculum expectations, while mid-assessment results showed positive but variable growth. The middle and upper-primary cohorts (Years 3–6) demonstrated the strongest improvement, reflecting successful use of data to inform instruction. Early-year cohorts continue to show the need for strengthened foundational number knowledge.
Overall, the data illustrates a maturing, data-informed approach, where teachers actively use EA insights to drive explicit teaching, celebrate growth, and plan for continuous improvement. Sustained emphasis on formative feedback, retrieval practice, and spaced review routines will continue to deepen understanding and accelerate student progress into Semester 2.
Looking Ahead
Marymount Primary School’s next step is to consolidate its use of formative data and extend spaced practice routines across all learning areas. Continued professional learning in retrieval practice, checking for understanding, and goal setting through EA’s training modules and webinars will further strengthen this continuous improvement. With clear evidence of engagement, growth, and reflective teaching practice, the school is well-positioned to sustain long-term improvement across all domains of learning.
Next Steps
To continue strengthening numeracy growth and deepening conceptual understanding across the school, the following next steps are recommended:
- Embed Daily Review and Retrieval Practice
Reinforce key mathematical concepts through short, daily retrieval activities and spiral review using My Numeracy and Flexi-Assessments to strengthen long-term retention. (Science of Learning: Retrieval Practice & Spaced Practice) - Use Data Conversations to Inform Instruction
Schedule structured data meetings using EA’s Strand Overview and Class Summary Views to collaboratively analyse misconceptions and adjust instruction based on student evidence. (Science of Learning: Responsive Teaching) - Target Foundational Gaps in Early Years
Prioritise number sense, counting principles, and fluency-building strategies in Prep to Year 2 to ensure a strong conceptual base for later mathematical reasoning. (Science of Learning: Cognitive Load & Sequenced Instruction) - Build Student Ownership and Motivation
Encourage students to engage with ‘I can’ statements and self-assess their progress using My Numeracy and Learning Goals, fostering a growth mindset and intrinsic motivation for improvement. (Science of Learning: Metacognition & Motivation) - Strengthen Feedback Loops
Integrate My Numeracy check-for-understanding tasks weekly to provide targeted, actionable feedback that informs next steps in teaching and supports each learner’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). (Science of Learning: Feedback & Formative Assessment)
To learn more about how Essential Assessment can support teaching and learning at your school, please get in touch.
