A move to scrap NAPLAN in favour of sample testing has been submitted to the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) review by the Gonski Institute for Education at UNSW.
It recommends removing the current approach to national testing and replacing it with sample testing of students across Australia.
Director of the Gonski Institute for Education, and former education minister, Professor Adrian Piccoli, says there is little evidence the now 10-year NAPLAN model has improved education outcomes for students.
"There is growing evidence NAPLAN is having a negative impact on schools, students and teachers," he said.
"NAPLAN and the publishing of results on the My School website has imposed a high stakes dimension to student testing and this has led to increased student anxiety, teaching to the test and a narrowing of the curriculum.
"The Gonski Institute supports a national testing system so the performance of our education systems can be monitored, but we recommend a better approach.
"We want the current tests, where every student is tested in years 3, 5, 7 and 9, replaced with a sample-based test of students.
"This new approach would mean the publication of school-by-school results on the My School website will no longer be possible. As a result, the high stakes nature of the current national assessment program on both students and teachers would be dramatically reduced.
"From a parent's perspective, I agree that the current NAPLAN test provides some useful information, but I am convinced that the negative effects of the current system outweigh those benefits. There are much better ways than the current NAPLAN to provide accurate, timely and useful data back to parents about how they are performing at school."
The submission also recommends the design and implementation of a new national assessment system should be driven by the teaching profession.
Boston College Professor Andy Hargreaves says there is a drive to find new and better ways of assessing systems and students.
"The assessment should be for use within schools for schools. It can be done in a way that still provides sound data and national reporting on system-level performance," he said.
Recommendations from the review are expected to be delivered to COAG in June.
