Page 5204 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
(b) investment the ACT Government is making in literacy and numeracy to help improve student achievement; and
(2) commends the:
(a) ACT Government for its cooperative approach with the Australian Government in investing in literacy and numeracy programs; and
(b) Department of Education and Training for its commitment to improve student achievement in literacy and numeracy.
A summary report on the 2010 NAPLAN results was released in September by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. The report shows that in 2010, right across the board, the ACT ranked at or near the top of all jurisdictions across Australia. The summary results for the ACT are certainly very encouraging. They show that, since the NAPLAN tests first commenced in 2008, literacy and numeracy results in the ACT have improved significantly. The ACT continues to remain at the top of the results ladder. Our students are some of the best-performing students in the country.
It is worth noting that these results are largely consistent with those of 2008 and 2009. These results hold our school system up to the light. They allow us to highlight where things are improving. Also, importantly, they help to identify the areas of underperformance which demand further attention. NAPLAN testing provides the key measures against which all parents are able to judge the performance of our schools. I understand the full national report will be released on 17 December and I, and I am sure teachers, parents and students also, look forward to its release.
I would like to expand on some of the key issues: firstly, how we work with the commonwealth government. Part of the story behind these NAPLAN results, particularly the improvement in the last two years, is the cooperative approach this government has taken with the Australian government. There has been a cooperative approach in delivering literacy and numeracy initiatives through the smarter schools national partnerships.
These national partnerships propose nationally significant reforms to enable the ACT school system to pursue high-quality schooling for all students. The national partnerships target specific reforms in addressing educational disadvantage and focus on improvement in student literacy and numeracy outcomes. And they focus on improving teacher quality.
The ACT has received almost $17 million under these national partnership agreements and, in relation to literacy and numeracy, approximately $6 million has been allocated. For public schools, this funding is being matched with ACT government funding.
As part of the literacy and numeracy smarter schools national partnership, a cross-sectoral agreement across the ACT has been created, including 12 government, seven Catholic and six independent schools. This national partnership has provided
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video