To have adopted a rather pessimistic or ‘tick the box’ attitude towards the Australian Curriculum’s general capabilities – and in particular critical thinking – is not surprising when we consider the enormity of a teacher’s tasks on any day. I ...
More »On a knead to know basis: ACARA CEO
What does MasterChef 2020 have to do with school? More than you'd think. The show's Grand Finale took place the other night, with Emilia and Laura vying for this year's trophy. As I was watching the season, I've noticed some ...
More »Mathematics minus numeracy – a first step toward decluttering: Opinion
The process has begun – finally! We hope that the work to review the mathematics (and digital technologies) curriculum over the next 12 months does indeed result in clarity about what is to be taught. The seemingly poor performance by ...
More »Overhaul of NAPLAN results on My School website
The My School website – which includes schools’ NAPLAN latest results from 2019, among other information – has been updated to reflect the annual test results in a more helpful light. The website change, which took effect yesterday, follows last ...
More »Is the LANTITE contributing to the ‘collapse’ of the Australian teaching profession?
When Education Review published an opinion piece by Mihad Ali highlighting her frustration with the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE), it sparked a debate online both on our Twitter and comments page. While many commentators believed that strong literacy ...
More »2019 NAPLAN Report: CEO hopeful of a turnaround in writing achievement
The latest NAPLAN National Report shows there have been gains made in several domains and year levels, most importantly in writing. “At the national level, compared to 2008, the performance of Australian students in Year 5 numeracy, Years 3 and ...
More »ACARA accused of covering up true extent of NAPLAN failure
The release of the NAPLAN 2019 summary information showed writing scores for primary school students improved over last year’s results, but criticisms of the test and its purpose remain. While presenting the results last week under embargo, Australian Curriculum, Assessment ...
More »Girls better than boys at ICT, but possibly less interested in it
Remember the infamous 'Google memo'? In July 2017, Google engineer James Damore circulated an email to his colleagues, critiquing the company's diversity policy vis-à-vis hiring more women. "I value diversity and inclusion, am not denying that sexism exists, and don’t ...
More »Early NAPLAN marks released amid terse trans-Pacific debate
Schools now have their hands on early NAPLAN data, a day after two US professors called for the marks to be discarded, and questioned the futility of comparisons with previous years. ACARA today released the NAPLAN 2018 summary information, which ...
More »NAPLAN authority attempts to quell data set concerns
Parents and teachers will be able to compare the standardised NAPLAN test results of students who took the exams online with those who used traditional pen and paper. The national assessment body says its data analysts have confirmed the two ...
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