Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research
The NSW curriculum review recommends students be assigned tasks based on their ability, rather than their age. This approach recognises the progress individuals make over the course of a year.
Our children should no longer be taught formulaic writing. Writing education should encompass skills that go beyond the capacities of artificial intelligence.
Samara, Russia, 2017: students sit the state exam.
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Standardised tests or exams have been in place in a number of educational systems for nearly two centuries. They are rooted in reformers’ desire to regulate schooling and hold educators accountable.
NAPLAN scores are used to gauge the quality of schools. But the overemphasis on only literacy and numeracy scores stands in the way of providing a more holistic education.
A survey of NSW teachers shows there is an emphasis on explicitly teaching writing in the early school years. But the amount of time spent teaching writing dips in the middle years.
A study found no statistically significant difference between the literacy and numeracy scores of school children who had attended preschool or childcare and children who didn’t.
NAPLAN’s arrival promised inequities decreased partly from parent involvement in their child’s progress. But working class parents don’t see NAPLAN as a tool for them, and hardly find it valuable.
Many reports over the 12 years of NAPLAN’s existence have highlighted a plethora of issues with the test that need to be urgently addressed. And the most recent review is not exception.
Are we failing to challenge the reading
skills in advantaged students?
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Years 5-7 typically include the transition from primary to secondary but the reading slowdown can’t just be blamed on this, because numeracy progress has improved. So what’s going on with reading?
Families are anxious when it comes to choosing the right school for their child.
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Under no circumstances do NAPLAN scores alone indicate a student’s full potential, so linking them to any future job application is a dangerous idea.
International research suggests homeschooled students’ achievements are as good, if not better, than those of their schooled peers.
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Do homeschooled children miss out on quality education from trained teachers? Research says no – homeschooled students do just as well, if not better, than those who go to school.
Actress Felicity Huffman was one of the celebrities involved in the recent US college admissions scandal.
Etienne Laurent/AAP
Caregivers using privilege to buy their children’s way into, and through, education is not a Hollywood anomaly, nor the domain of elites. The middle class have been doing it in Australia for decades.
Regardless of who wins next year’s federal election, it’s time for us to all get on the same page.
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2018 was a mixed bag for schooling policy in Australia, with new ministers, a new organisation and auspicious anniversaries. It’s worth reflecting on the year that’s been.
No state is better than the rest on all education measures.
AAP/Paul Miller
Girls are encouraged more often to read, despite performing better in reading assessments nationally and internationally. Here’s how parents and educators can help connect boys with books.