Technical and statistical information

Technical reports

The ICSEA and SEA quarters calculation model is subject to a process of continuous refinement and enhancement. The latest model and procedures are explained in full details in the Technical report 2021 – approach to reporting on My School.

ICSEA 2021 technical report (425 kb)

Technical report 2019 - Approach to reporting on My School (2.2 mb)

ICSEA 2018 technical report (418 kb)

ICSEA 2017 technical report (348 kb)

ICSEA 2016 technical report (345 kb)

ICSEA 2015 technical report (312 kb)

ICSEA 2014 technical report (429 kb)

ICSEA 2013 technical report (877 kb)

Indicative standard errors

The NAPLAN average score is an estimate of a school’s performance based on the students who were tested in the school. This estimate is more accurate when the number of students tested is large and when the students perform at a similar level. Standard errors reflect the accuracy of the estimate and the degree of confidence one can have in the estimate.

The PDF documents below provide indicative standard errors of NAPLAN school performance scores for the average with different numbers of tested students. They provide an indication of the standard error margin for a school. These are used to derive the margin of error that is shown on the graphical depiction of NAPLAN results.

An indicative error is an estimated error associated with a number of students in a school's test group. The prediction is derived by regressing standard errors on a number of students in a test group.

'Resampled data with replacement' means that the same number of student records is sampled each time, except that the same student record may be sampled more than once. With more than 1,000 replications, this produces a highly accurate estimate of the standard error.

That bootstrapped standard error is then modelled, as was the standard error of the average, and the predicted values from that modelling are the indicative errors.

Caveats to accompany data collections

In some instances, data fields may vary in their treatment across states and territories. Where appropriate, caveats are collected to accompany data submissions so that how jurisdictions treat data fields can be captured and reported. Please follow links below to see where these are.

 

Caveats for school attendance

Caveats for senior secondary outcomes

Caveats for VET in schools

Caveats for Finance (Financial limitations)

Financial data reporting on My School

When jurisdictions report financial information, data fields can vary in their treatment across states, territories and school sectors. Therefore, financial limitations are also collected to accompany financial data submissions so that these differences can be captured and reported. See financial limitations for all jurisdictions 2014–2022.

 

At the end of each year's finance data collection, ACARA releases a financial data reporting methodology report, and an independent contractor releases a letter of accounting advice and an independent assurance practitioners compliance report. Up until 2018, this was Deloitte and from 2019, this is PricewaterhouseCoopers. See financial reports and letters for 2014-2022.