NSW students have recorded the worst results in reading since international comparisons commenced.
One in ten Year 9 students failed to reach the national minimum standard for reading, placing them behind Victoria and Western Australia in the latest round of NAPLAN results.
- Federal Education Minister remained “very concerned” about the ongoing impacts of school closures.
- Promised that he remained committed to returning Australia to top group of educated nations.
The number of students who have failed to reach minimum standard for reading has doubled since Kevin Rudd took office in 2007, where around one in 20 students failed to meet the minimum standard in the State.
Mr Rudd came to power promising an education revolution, which turned out to be more about spending money than improving standards.
GRASPED
In other subjects, NSW ranked top three among Australian results and also achieved the highest mean score in spelling and writing for Years 3 to 7.
The NSW education minister grasped for a positive spin on the NAPLAN tests, held in May 2021 prior to extended lockdowns.
“Once again, NSW students are achieving above the national average in all five domains, at all year levels,” NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.
Extended lockdowns and disruptions to learning appeared to have minimal impact on overall education performance.
“It’s reassuring to see that overall, our students’ literacy and numeracy standards have not significantly suffered, despite the major disruptions of COVID-19 and remote learning,” ACARA CEO David de Carvalho said.
“However, this does not mean there has been no impact on specific students or demographic groups.”
ACARA found that the declining standards in writing had begun to flatten, while the average trend for primary school level reading and high school numeracy was improving.
Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said headline results were pleasing, but further analysis was needed to assess the full impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s education.
DECLINE
“It is certainly a relief that we have not yet seen the significant declines that we may have expected due to school closures, particularly in Victoria,” Mr Tudge said.
“The results also show a resilience among young Australians, and they are testament to the hard work of teachers and parents who are supporting learning at home.”
Mr Tudge said he remained “very concerned” about the ongoing impacts of school closures on students and their families, as well as individuals who have disengaged from school altogether.
“I also remain focused on the longer-term goal of returning Australia to the top group of education nations, including by lifting standards in literacy and numeracy,” he said.
Despite Queensland results remaining steady, participation in the testing program plummeted as the State’s Teachers’ Union encouraged parents to withdraw their children from taking the assessment.
Almost one in five students did not take the test, The Courier Mail newspaper reported.
Meanwhile, despite Victorian schools remaining closed longer than those in other States, Victorian students defied national expectations and recorded improvements, ranking first in several subjects and year levels.
“The results suggest that persistent effort to improve outcomes pays off,” De Carvalho said. “It is testament to the resilience of students, teachers, parents and carers, and school and system leaders during these challenging times.”
The 2021 NAPLAN exams were held in May, prior to the extended lockdowns in NSW and Victoria.PC
NAPLAN is totally rigged, if you don’t play by the teachers rules, they punish the school and government for political gain.
I have seen a very good local School fall down the NAPLAN ladder, as the Principal did not follow the teachers union rules of engagement.
Labor’s “Gonski” financial years grants not working.
The Abbott led Coalition in government from September 2013 agreed to support Gonski for the Labor Budget 2013/14 financial year that the grants commenced and for the forward estimate years following, but no longer, and to negotiate a “back to basics” in education and funding.
And also consider Labor’s NDIS cost blow out, unaffordable in the long term, which is a nasty habit of Labor governments squandering taxpayer’s monies.
However, fiscal conservatives are also a minority on the opposite side to Labor now, sometimes called LINO/NINO MPs.