For the first time since the start of the pandemic, parents will have fresh and relevant NAPLAN data on the My School website to compare their school's performance.
The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), which administers the literacy and numeracy test, said parents could now contrast their school with others of a similar socio-economic profile.
Previously the comparisons were much broader with schools in low-income areas ranked alongside wealthy, established powerhouses.
"[They're] based on overall achievement without considering the schools' level of socio-educational advantage or the amount of progress the students have made in the previous two years.
"Such comparisons are meaningless."
ACARA hopes the new comparison will highlight schools trialling new approaches and seeing improvements, rather than those maintaining an already high base.
It is hoped this will increase the relevance of the NAPLAN test by promoting ideas on how to get the best out of students.
"[We want to highlight] schools that are punching above their weight," Mr de Carvalho said.
"Those that are achieving above expectation, in terms of progress on where their students were two years ago, taking into account their level of socio-economic advantage.
"[Then we'll] find out what these schools are doing and how good practice can be replicated."
The national and state averages for the 2021 NAPLAN test were released last year and showed students performed well despite remote learning during the pandemic.
Today is the first time parents can see their school’s result as well as updated data on its socio-educational profile.
New results show 'transformation'
Galstaun College in Sydney's outer north is one of the schools to be singled out by ACARA for its improvement in literacy and numeracy.
The school's results from last year showed 69 per cent of students making above average progress in numeracy and 60 per cent in literacy.
The independent school caters to Armenian Christians and has a lower socio-economic score than nearby public schools.
About 80 per cent of students come from homes that speak a language other than English.
"[We've] had quite a transformation," principal Eddy Demirdjian said.
"[It's been] quite a process in the last few years focusing on our literacy and numeracy and there's been a lot of work there so I'm really happy for the teachers, the students and the parents in particular," he said.
The war in Syria has seen the school's ranks swell with refugees, many who of whom arrived in Australia not speaking English.
The school has used phonics to teach reading and prioritised a back-to-basics approach.
"What we're looking at at the moment is explicit instruction," Mr Demirdjian said.
"It's something that we started four years ago in primary and over the last year we've moved that to high school."
'I'm learning from them'
Like many parents with children at the school, Nayiri Imiejikian never planned to live in Australia.
"When the war started in 2012 we fled Syria and went to Lebanon and then decided to come to Australia," Ms Imiejekian said.
Neither of her sons spoke English when they arrived and she's proud of their strong NAPLAN results.
"Their English has improved very well and now I'm learning from them," she said.
Another mother at the school, Sylvia Margosian — who is also a teacher at a different public school — appreciates how well Galstaun has done.
"We've had many students coming to this school, just a few years ago, that didn't even speak English," she said.
"And for them to not only speak English now but to master English well enough to score such great results in a NAPLAN test.
"I think that's fantastic," Ms Margosian said.
At schools like Galstaun, which continued its improvement despite the pandemic, today's numbers are big news.
"The teaching staff at the school are fantastic, they really nurture the students to get the best out of them because a happy child's going to perform," Ms Margosian said.
"So full credit to the teachers."
