Education leaders and maths associations gathered in Adelaide this week to develop a commitment statement and action plan to close the gap in maths education outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The National Summit on Indigenous Students and Mathematics Education, ...
More »Why are schools still doing NAPLAN?
Education authorities remain insistent that the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests are an effective tool and useful in tracking student learning, three years after a survey found teachers disagree. This is the second year NAPLAN was held ...
More »NSW teachers get ‘explicit teaching’ training
All NSW teachers will undergo 'explicit teaching' training in their staff development days at the start of term two, after it was revealed some disadvantaged schools outperformed their high-fee counterparts in NAPLAN results. Explicit teaching involves a teacher clearly showing ...
More »NAPLAN: Some results to be released after a month, Ramadan begins
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) announced on Monday that schools will receive preliminary NAPLAN results earlier than ever this year. Reading, language conventions, and numeracy results will be released four weeks after the final tests on March ...
More »League tables are damaging education in NSW
Aussies love a good competition – seeing where our team ranks is one of the mainstays of our passion for many sports, indicating who is currently the best and who is at the bottom of the pile. So why shouldn’t ...
More »Trust: Finland’s education system has it
If there is a one-word answer to the often-posed question, 'What is the one thing that’s most different about the Finnish system?', it is trust. As I led a tour group through Finnish schools, a number of the group were ...
More »Explicit instruction of phonics: A reading revolution for young learners
The federal government has committed $10.8m to a free voluntary ‘phonics health check’, with this year’s recent NAPLAN results revealing a third of year three students aren’t meeting minimum expectations for reading. The phonics health check is a seven-minute assessment ...
More »Regional principal named among 2023 education powerhouses
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) has named the principal of a small public primary school in country Victoria among the most powerful people in education in 2023. Jacquie Burrows was a teacher at Churchill Primary School (Churchill) prior to taking ...
More »Haileybury Rendall School wins Australian regional school of the year
This year’s Australian Education Awards (AEA) celebrated high-performing schools, principals, department heads and teachers, showcasing their exemplary work in improving learning outcomes for young Australians. Shortlisted candidates for each category were invited to attend a black-tie gala in Sydney on ...
More »Schools missing out on gifted students: study
A lack of teacher training and misuse of NAPLAN results are preventing schools from identifying and supporting gifted students, education experts have warned. According to a new study from Griffith University, schools that have used NAPLAN test results to identify ...
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