Along with a relatively small number of countries such as New Zealand, Singapore and Finland and Scotland, Australia is unusual in that, as well as a focus on knowledge and skills, its national curriculum explicitly requires schools to teach certain ...

Is there a crisis in Australian science and mathematics education? UNE and QUT academics posed this question in 2014, in their 45-page thesis, The Continuing Decline Of Science And Mathematics Enrolments In Australian High Schools. They definitively answered 'yes'. Three years ...

Each time international PISA and TIMSS results are released, the word Singapore is breathlessly mentioned. Although the city state continuously tops these tests, cracks are beginning to show in its educational veneer. Several academics have pointed out flaws in the tests themselves, including ...

The Program for International Student Assessment  (PISA) is a standardised literacy, numeracy and science test of 15-year-olds across 72 countries, conducted by the OECD. Yet it doesn’t measure rote learning. Rather, it tests whether kids can apply their knowledge to real-life scenarios. For Aussie students, this task has proved difficult. Like ...

Australia's 15-year-old students have progressively declined in reading, mathematics and science over the past 12 years, according to results of the triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Singapore topped the survey, which focuses on OECD nations, followed by Japan, ...

While a new study suggests the strict classroom discipline found in many East Asian countries contributes to higher Programme for International Student Assessment scores, evidence suggests it may also place a high mental health burden on these nations' students. "Work ...

It could be said that school education’s equivalent to the Olympics is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). While Australia’s performance on the world’s sporting stage guarantees passionate discussion, our international performance in education doesn’t share quite the ...

Local teens’ literacy assessments dip in worldwide rankings. Australian students are slipping in mathematics and reading literacy, the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has shown. Fifteen-year-olds who took part in the assessment performed equal 17th in mathematics, equal ...

The PM's call to raise education standards faces an uphill battle over funding and debate over teaching standards. Australia's educational future is under threat. David Gonski led a review endorsing a $5 billion school reform package (on a yearly basis) ...