I received this email and publish it here with permission:

Dear Justin,

I just read your very well-argued contra-NAPLAN piece in the newspaper, and just wanted to write and say bravo. I wish I'd had the courage of my convictions like you, and stopped my Year 3 child from sitting the test this week. I don't have expertise in primary or secondary education, but every point you made rings true for me intuitively.

In addition to the test's uselessness, and the reports of cheating that have emerged, I've been horrified by the damage to the social fabric of the school wrought by NAPLAN, and in particular the toxic competitiveness it has brought out in certain parents.

My child's best friend spent the holidays doing a NAPLAN preparation course (this is an 8-year-old!!), has been tutored in every subject since the beginning of the year, and has been promised a pet kitten if she gets the top mark.

And while she's the most extreme case, she's far from alone - after-school NAPLAN preparation tutoring has reached epidemic levels for these Year 3 kids at this apparently normal suburban Sydney school.

Ugh, it's vile, and just supplements the preoccupation with the test that's been so prevalent in the classroom.

But anyway, enough about my woes ... well done for speaking out, it was one of the best pieces I've read on the topic. On your very persuasive advice, I'll be sure to completely ignore the results when they come out, just as I have been completely ignoring the corrupt MySchool website.

Yours in solidarity,
Name removed for public use
Associate Professor
Faculty of ____
University of _____
NSW Australia