A Wilson Liberal and Nationals Government will back every Victorian student to achieve their very best, with a new Literacy and Numeracy Guarantee announced today.
Under Labor, one in four Victorian students are failing to meet proficiency benchmarks in literacy and numeracy. That means too many students are missing out on a proper grounding in the basics that everything else in their education depends on.
Reading, writing and numeracy are the foundations of a great education and a great life.
The Literacy and Numeracy Guarantee, the next part of our Excellence in Education Plan, will back in every Victorian student to achieve excellence at school - and that means setting our sights higher than Labor has been willing to.
The Literacy and Numeracy Guarantee will establish:
- An interim target of a 15% increase on current levels over 10 years across the NAPLAN domains of literacy and numeracy. This is a genuine stretch goal that goes above and beyond the targets Victoria has already signed up to under the National School Reform Agreement, because our kids deserve a government that strives for excellence, not one that settles for the minimum.
- A long-term goal of 90% proficiency across the NAPLAN domains of literacy and numeracy.
To back teachers to deliver these outcomes, a Wilson Liberal and Nationals Government will expand professional learning for teachers, including targeted best-practice programs in explicit teaching and classroom behaviour management, and review Victoria's curriculum to better prepare students for life while reducing workload on teachers.
These reforms will give teachers the tools they need to deliver a decluttered, modern curriculum built on explicit instruction and a sequenced knowledge core in every key learning area - because when teachers are supported to achieve professional excellence, students are also supported to achieve their best.
Victoria's 2025 NAPLAN results show that averaged across all four tested year levels (3,5,7 and 9) and domains (reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy), 27.8% of Victorian students are not meeting proficiency benchmarks.
Leader of the Opposition, Jess Wilson, said, "Literacy and numeracy are essential skills for life, yet under Labor, too many students aren't developing these critical foundations.
"I do not accept that one in four kids in every Victorian classroom should be left behind when it comes to their foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. We can and must do better.
"My team has a plan to back every Victorian student to reach their full potential - by modernising learning, decluttering the curriculum and backing teachers and setting a higher bar for what our schools can achieve."
Shadow Minister for Education, Brad Rowswell, said, "The potential of many students is being held back and it's about time they were supported and challenged to achieve something better. At the same time, teachers want to be better supported in their professional practice - including through professional learning.
"Our Literacy and Numeracy Guarantee gives every student a real shot at achieving their potential at school and being the best they can be when they leave school. It means better learning outcomes, more support for teachers, and evidence-based learning in every classroom."
