Page 5211 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 27 October 2010
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in that question yesterday that that was particularly stark for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. I note that Mr Barr’s response was that it was a very small group and there were some statistical issues involved and so forth. I just do not think we can keep falling back on that one. We need to understand that this is a group, along with some other groups that I will go into further detail on, that need that constant support, enhanced support where possible, so that they can pursue the opportunities of their peers.
This year the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs tabled the report from their inquiry into the educational achievement gap in the ACT. The government responded positively to the majority of the recommendations from that inquiry. In the committee report it was noted in chapter 3, when referring to ACT results from standard assessment tests in a comparative perspective, that:
… while it is evident that the ACT performs highly in these general comparisons, it is also evident that some greater scrutiny of the data is required to examine the performance of students in the ACT education system.
This is what needs to take place once we get the detailed 2010 NAPLAN results later this year. The committee put forward 24 recommendations in this inquiry. As I said, the government responded positively to most of them. Recommendation 24, which the government only noted, summarised what the committee in its inquiry aimed to achieve. That recommendation called on the Department of Education and Training to provide a comprehensive assessment of current methods and outcomes for meeting identified need in the education system and develop a coherent strategy in which all programs can be reviewed against the objective of improving the educational engagement and achievement of disadvantaged students and, therefore, enhancing equity within the system.
Only last week in the Assembly we had the same committee, the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs, table a report on the level of unmet need for educational services for students with a disability, and that was in both ACT government and non-government schools. This inquiry covered, among a number of needs areas for students, the findings of the Shaddock special education review into leading international and Australian practice in curriculum and pedagogy for students with disabilities. We look forward to the government’s response to the committee’s report because getting the best possible educational outcome for students with a disability is part of closing the educational achievement gap as well. Just as we take pride in the results achieved in NAPLAN testing this year, we need to ensure that we are not leaving the most disadvantaged behind.
Therefore I was pleased to hear yesterday Minister Barr outline where the government was up to and what he was continuing to put in place in relation to ensuring every student has the best possible education. Our concern with the literacy and numeracy focus—and we have raised this a number of times—is that students with strengths in other areas of the school curriculum can be neglected or disadvantaged as schools focus on teaching literacy and numeracy. I guess what I am saying here is that literacy and numeracy are essential. We all know that, but we need to make sure that it does not follow what has tended to happen in other countries where teachers end up
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