- Hon Erica Stanford
The latest research from the Education Review Office (ERO) shows the Government's decision to mandate structured literacy and introduce structured mathematics was right, as student engagement and ability improves.
"For decades we've seen a decline in achievement and an equity gap that has continued to grow. This report confirms we are turning that around, more young people are on track to reaching their potential at school," Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
ERO found half of primary school teachers report students' English and maths have improved compared to last year. Parents agree, with over three quarters reporting better progress in both English and maths. So do students, with around 75 per cent saying they are getting better in those subjects, 95 per cent say they find English interesting and 86 per cent think the same for maths. Teachers also report that new approaches like structured literacy have improved attention and behaviour in the classroom.
"This is an incredible boost in less than a year, and it is reflective of the brilliant work going on in schools across the country. We followed the science and gave teachers the support and resources they needed to roll it out.
"For example, 33 thousand teachers are trained or in training in structured literacy - that's 80 per cent of all Year 0-8 teachers. We re-prioritised $30 million to deliver over 1.1 million maths textbooks, workbooks and teacher guides to schools. Encouragingly, ERO found teachers who used these resources were four times more likely to change their teaching practice. This investment is working," Ms Stanford says.
Overall, eighty per cent of teachers have already changed how they are teaching English and maths and all schools are now using explicit teaching techniques.
"A third of teachers have increased the time spent on reading, writing and maths and this is even greater in schools in lower socio-economic communities, where ERO found almost half of teachers are focusing more on maths.
"Every student deserves the chance to succeed and go on and live the life they want. We're making sure that every student, regardless of background, has that chance. We will continue to support teachers with the tools they need to help our young people reach their potential," Ms Stanford says.
