IN THE NEWS
6 May 2024
The Canberra Times - Editorial
This is a pivotal moment for ACT education
"The expert panel behind an inquiry into literacy and numeracy in ACT public schools should be congratulated on their thorough and insightful report.
This is a pivotal moment for our education system. No longer will every school have the responsibility of deciding their own curricula and approach to teaching literacy and numeracy.
Instead, there will be a common approach based on what the evidence says about how children learn new skills and knowledge.
There will be a focus on things that really work. This includes explicit teaching, consistent routines, scaffolding, checking for understanding and guided inquiry.”
6 May 2024
WIN News - ACT Literacy & Numeracy Final Report Recommendations - accepted ‘In Principle’
ACT' Literacy and Numeracy Inquiry - Final Report
"The ACT's public school system is set for an overhaul after an inquiry into poor numeracy and literacy skills.”
6 May 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
ACT public school shake-up is long overdue, and parents will still have questions
"ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry is to be congratulated on the Final Report of the literacy and numeracy inquiry handed in last week.
When then Liberal education spokesperson Jeremy Hanson called in the Legislative Assembly for an inquiry into the way literacy was being taught in ACT public schools, she could have taken the partisan route and shut it down.
To her credit, she widened the scope to include numeracy, appointed an independent Expert Panel and arrived at broad enough terms of reference for it to provide a comprehensive 282-page report with recommendations urging a fundamental shift not just in teaching practices but also how the ACT education system organises itself.
While concern about slipping standards in ACT schools has been ongoing for more than a decade, the catalyst last year was Equity Economics’ Raising the Grade report released in June, which found that one in three ACT 15-year-olds wasn’t reaching the national benchmark for reading.”
3 May 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
'It becomes satisfying': shift in education welcomed by teachers, parents
"An expert report calling for significant changes to how literacy and numeracy is taught in ACT public schools has been widely welcomed as a way to lift student outcomes and reduce teacher workloads.
The final report from an independent inquiry recommended a focus on explicit teaching of core skills, standard screening of students and a system to support students before they are left behind.”
3 May 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
Literacy and numeracy findings a 'game changer' for ACT public schools
"The teachers union has called it a game changer and parents finally feel heard.
The Final Report of the Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel has been universally welcomed. Education Minister Yvette Berry accepted all eight recommendations in principle and promised funding for their implementation over four years from the start of term in 2025.
The panel has recommended a greater focus on explicit instruction, especially in the early years, more testing to prevent students being left behind and greater consistency across all ACT public schools.”
2 May 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
Public schools face shake-up after literacy and numeracy inquiry urges system-wide changes
"A significant shift towards explicit teaching, more testing and a consistent approach across the ACT public school system are the key take-outs of the Final Report of the Literacy and Numeracy Education Expert Panel.
Education Minister Yvette Berry has accepted all eight of the panel’s recommendations and announced a four-year implementation plan starting in the 2025 school year.
Panel chair Professor Barney Dalgarno said there was no one-size-fits-all solution to lifting literacy and numeracy standards in the ACT’s schools, but the report makes it clear that the evidence points to a more centralised approach to curriculum, a greater focus on explicit teaching, especially in the early years, and getting the basics right.
The report, Achieving equity and excellence through evidence-informed consistency, calls for a culture of high expectation that prioritises learning.”
2 May 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
If we get these school reforms right, children's lives could be transformed
"At last, ACT public schools have a clear blueprint for how we will get out of our rut of underperformance in literacy and numeracy.
The expert panel has made powerful recommendations that, if properly funded and implemented, will change the lives of children in the ACT for years to come.
The ACT system has prided itself on having school autonomy as a prominent feature.
This means schools and even individual teachers have a large amount of choice over how they teach the Australian Curriculum.
This might sound like a good thing, but it has unintended consequences.”
2 May 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Review calls for significant shift in how ACT schools teach literacy, numeracy
"The ACT public school system should move towards consistent, evidence-based teaching of literacy and numeracy, a landmark report has recommended.
Schools should prioritise explicit teaching and should be given more guidance from the Education Directorate on how to teach a knowledge-rich curriculum, an expert panel recommended.
Year 1 students should do a phonics and numeracy check and all students should do consistent assessments that go into a central data system.
The report marks a significant departure from the current approach in the ACT where schools have autonomy over how core skills are taught and place an emphasis on student-led, inquiry learning.”
2 May 2024
ABC News - Victor Petrovic and Harry Frost
Expert panel recommends ACT government overhaul literacy and numeracy education with more centralised approach
"In short: An expert panel on literacy and numeracy has made eight recommendations to the ACT government to improve the education system.
They centre around creating a more centralised approach to literacy education, and an overhaul of the assessment strategy for students.
What's next? The government has accepted all the recommendations "in principle", but will offer a "fulsome" response in June.”
2 May 2024
ABC Radio Canberra - Adam Shirley, Presenter
Hear Jessica Del Rio speaking on ABC Radio Canberra with Adam Shirley about the Final Report and Recommendations from the Inquiry into literacy and numeracy in ACT public schools.
Interview from 58:34
25 April 2024
The Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio | Canberra needs an educational miracle
"Canberra's children face a challenging future, with the threat of global shocks and automation-driven changes to the job market.
We must use a data-driven approach to ensure that students master the fundamentals before navigating the complexities of the world beyond the classroom.
The Mississippi Miracle is the story of how Mississippi rose from having some of the lowest reading scores in the United States to having the most improved.
All students improved, including marginalised groups like African American and Hispanic students.”
22 April 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Calls for more funding to fix top two issues in ACT public schools
"The alliance suggests $28.5 million would be spent on screening all students from preschool to year 12.
Other initiatives included in the $92 million investment are a year 1 phonics check, curriculum materials for kindergarten to year 2 teachers, decodable readers, coaching and professional development for teachers, a numeracy check pilot and rollout as well as funding for a change management office in the Education Directorate.”
22 April 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
Literacy and numeracy inquiry report an opportunity to revive ACT public schools
"After years of warnings that the ACT’s vaunted education system is on the slide, the government’s independent inquiry into literacy and numeracy could be the circuit breaker needed for a change of strategy in the Territory’s schools.
The recommendations of the Expert Panel, due to report at the end of the month, will be closely examined to see which narrative has been accepted – a world’s-best public school system or one captured by faddish education theories, unsupported by evidence, that are leading it down a road to underperformance and children being left behind.”
18 April 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
Academic warns of vested interests blocking change to ACT literacy and numeracy teaching
"The academic responsible for the Canberra Liberals’ education policy has called out some of the submissions to the ACT Literacy and Numeracy Inquiry as vested interests opposed to any change to a teaching approach that she claims is failing ACT public schools and students.
Dr Karen Macpherson did her PhD on Concept-based teaching and how cognitive learning theory impacts how children learn. She has taught at university for more than 20 years and initially trained as a primary school teacher.
Dr Macpherson, who says she is not party affiliated and is a strong supporter of public education, said she had made a submission to the inquiry but was concerned to also find a number of submissions from interests with deep links to the ACT Education Directorate, either as consultants or providing professional learning services to teachers.”
24 March 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Popular method of teaching reading and writing 'leaves learning to chance'
"A popular method for teaching students to read and write in ACT public schools "leaves learning to chance", according to a leading reading academic.
A Canberra Times analysis of 65 public school websites found at least 19 schools were using a reader's and writer's workshop model to teach core literacy skills to primary school students.
A further 13 schools' websites mentioned they used a balanced literacy approach but did not elaborate on the teaching methods used in the classroom.
Macgregor Primary said it prioritised explicit instruction, while Majura Primary said it used the Sound Waves - a systematic, synthetic phonics program - for students in kindergarten to year 6.”
21 March 2024
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
ACT school autonomy under fire in inquiry submissions
"The teachers union has criticised the diversity of learning approaches among Canberra’s public schools, calling for greater central control of curricula.
In its submission to the inquiry into literacy and numeracy in ACT public schools, the Australian Education Union also warns of powerful commercial interests pushing simplistic teaching approaches by spreading misinformation about the ACT’s school performance.”
19 March 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Public school teachers forced to use evidence-backed methods in secret
"ACT teachers have been using evidence-based methods in secret because they do not feel not supported by their colleagues, an inquiry has heard.
Anonymous groups of primary school teachers have told the ACT literacy and numeracy inquiry they wanted all schools to have access to the same teaching materials to cut down on workload and boost student performance.
One group of current ACT public school teachers who are part of the ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education said some educators had been explicitly told not to teach phonics or use decodable readers, which are mandated in version 9 of the Australian curriculum.
The teachers said they felt a sense of "moral injury" because they were unable to help students who were "instructional casualties arising from the shortcomings of public schools".”
18 March 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Parents share the heartbreak and cost of children failing to learn to read
"Stephanie Sleen got a message from her son's teacher midway through year 1 that made her stomach drop.
The teacher said she was proud of the work he had done, writing a story about a giraffe and lion. The sentence he wrote was: "EPBPbxgbnop THo TBHoT Oo."
It took several weeks to meet with the teacher to be told that there was a long wait to see the school psychologist and nothing would be done differently unless the child had a diagnosis of autism. She was told her child could read but didn't try.
She found a private tutor at a cost of $600-$1000 per term for 30 minutes a week. To cut costs, Ms Sleen opted to do a Sounds-Write linguistic phonics course so she could teach her own child to sound out words instead of looking at the picture to guess words.”
8 March 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Teachers should be told how to teach literacy and numeracy, inquiry hears
"Specific guidance from the Education Directorate on how to teach literacy and numeracy could lift student results and reduce teachers' workload, the expert panel running an inquiry has heard.”
22 February 2024
The Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio | Four steps to fix reading
"The stakes of Australia's reading problem are high. Only one in three Aussie children are proficient readers. The Grattan Institute has published a report estimating the poor literacy of Australian school children costs Australia $40 billion. Equity Economics calculated a personal gain of $12 billion in increased earnings if we improve the literacy of the 20 per cent of students struggling the most.
Equity Economics was commissioned by the Code REaD Dyslexia Network to investigate why children aren't learning to read.
We identified four key areas of reform requiring an investment of $942 million in 2023-24; a fraction of the costs associated with underperforming in literacy.”
22 February 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
'Frustrated and angry': Teachers face barriers to apply science of learning
"Teachers do not always feel well-supported to implement teaching methods based on the science of learning, a new report has found.
The report by research fellow in education at the Centre for Independent Studies Trisha Jha found that most teachers had stumbled across the science of learning - a body of knowledge based on cognitive science and educational psychology - when their students weren't making enough progress."
12 February 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
ACT is not embracing evidence on reading, parents 'in the dark', report says
"The ACT is not taking the evidence on how children learn to read seriously and Canberra parents are in the dark about how reading is taught in schools, a new Grattan Institute report says.
Grattan Institute Education Program Director and lead author of the report Dr Jordana Hunter said in the typical Australian classroom of 24 students, eight can't read well.
"Australia is failing these children," Dr Hunter said.
"And it's a preventable tragedy - the reason most of those students can't read well enough is that we aren't teaching them well enough."
10 February 2024
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
ACT schools are switching to decodable reading books. Here's why it matters
"The ACT Education Directorate does not know what type of books public schools have to teach young children to read as all schools make the switch to an updated curriculum.
The most recent version of the Australian curriculum mandates the use of decodable texts, which support students to learn letters and sounds systematically.
Version 9 of the curriculum has removed references to predictable texts and the three-cuing system, which can encourage children to guess words from context.
An ACT Education Directorate spokesman said all public schools would implement version 9 of the Australian curriculum from the beginning of 2024, however the directorate does not keep a central register of the books held across the 91 public schools."
1 February 2024
The Canberra Times - Scarlett Gaffey
Opinion
Scarlett Gaffey | The key question parents need to ask themselves and their kids' schools
"It's the start of the school year again, and for some parents this might be the first exciting time that their child starts school.
Parents and children will be filled with trepidation. Parents will have high hopes and expectations, and they may also have some fears like, "Will my child like their teacher? Will the playground be too overwhelming for my child? Will they make friends? Will I make friends with the other parents?"
23 December 2023
The Riot Act - Claire Fenwicke
'Persistent equity gap' part of consultation into literacy and numeracy at ACT public schools inquiry overdue for ACT's public schools
“The ACT’s “hidden or masked” disadvantage and the way it’s impacting our literacy and numeracy rates will be given a thorough look as part of a review of our education system.
Educators, academics, unions, parents and students have all been called on to comment on the consultation paper for the literacy and numeracy education inquiry.
The inquiry’s expert panel has devised 20 questions that cover what students are taught, how they are taught, how students are supported, how staff are supported, and areas that need improvement.”
18 December 2023
The Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio | The Investment teachers want that our children need
"Next year about 4000 students will enrol in Kindergarten in ACT government schools.
The ACT does not have the screening, progress monitoring and intervention tools to ensure these children will thrive at school.
The report of the expert panel of the Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System was released on December 11 and its recommendations should be implemented immediately across ACT public schools to benefit all students, including those students who are leaving school without becoming proficient in literacy and numeracy.”
30 October 2023
The Riot Act - Ian Bushnell
Literacy and numeracy inquiry overdue for ACT's public schools
“Government support for an independent inquiry into literacy, expanded to include numeracy, is long overdue and welcome.
For too long, Education Minister Yvette Berry has instinctively gone into bat for ACT public schools, the Education Directorate and teachers, despite growing evidence that not all is well in our classrooms.”
27 October 2023
The Riot Act - Claire Fenwicke
Independent inquiry to be held into ACT public schools' literacy and numeracy performance
“Factors both inside and outside of the classroom will be considered as part of an independent inquiry into the literacy and numeracy performance of students in the ACT public schools.
The Canberra Liberals on Thursday (October 26) called for an investigation into literacy performance to be held, with Labor announcing it would also consider numeracy results as part of the inquiry.
Shadow Education Minister Jeremy Hanson said this was a win for all students, children, schools and the community.
“We have been working for months with parents, educators, the unions and experts to shine a light on this issue, culminating in our call for a full review into literacy achievement in the ACT,” he said.
“We know there is no single or simple answer, but I am very pleased the government has now accepted the need to address this issue and I look forward to continuing to work with all groups to stand up for education standards in the ACT.”
It comes off the back of the Raising the Grade report released in June, which found one in three ACT 15 year old’s weren’t reaching the national benchmark for reading.”
15 September 2023
The Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio | ACT schools letting down Canberra students learning to read
"Now, a new report from Equity Economics, commissioned by the Code REaD Dyslexia Network, estimates that $942 million is required in 2023-24 so that the rest of the country can follow reforms that have already rolled out in South Australia and NSW.
These jurisdictions have attempted to bridge the gap between research and classroom practice and to bring coherence to their curriculum, professional development of teachers, with universal screening to identify students who are struggling to learn to read and intervention so that these students catch up.
The ACT has not made a similar system-wide investment. As with some other jurisdictions, there are high levels of school autonomy in the ACT with decisions about curriculum and performance falling within the control of school principals and school boards.
There is limited publicly available information about how children are taught to read in ACT schools, but it is understood that the cueing method is popular across many schools.
This method encourages children to guess words by looking at the first letter of the word and based on visuals and syntax.
The Australian Curriculum requires all schools to cease using this method of instruction, but it requires a significant system-wide investment in teacher training, resources and student books to do so. Unlike nearly every other state and territory there are no indications the ACT government will make such an investment.
And nearly all the other jurisdictions have some sort of phonics testing for students in year 1 except for the ACT. This means that there is no universal gatekeeper mechanism in the ACT to find those children who are struggling to learn to read.”
10 September 2023
ABC - Susan McDonald
A reading revolution is underway in many Australian schools but classes are still a 'lottery' for parents
Professor Snow says there is huge variation in how schools teach across the country, creating a "lottery" for parents.
"Two schools only a few kilometres apart can be taking a completely different approach to reading instruction," she says.
"It's reasonable for parents to not give any real thought to the question of whether their child would be taught to read when they go to school — it's just assumed — and some will be lucky and some won't be so lucky.
"But it shouldn't be a lottery."
25 August 2023
The Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio | The ACT's poor NAPLAN reading results are a wakeup call
"Australian governments, including the ACT government, need to ensure the latest research findings on literacy instruction are better accessed and used by schools and educators. The Australian Education Research Organisation, Australia's independent education evidence body, has concluded many schools across Australia are using strategies which have not been proven to be effective for reading instruction. A change in management process is required to phase out the use of the cueing system which encourages children to guess unknown words, and to bring in high quality explicit instruction which systematically teaches children letter sounds.”
4 August 2023
The Canberra Times - Scarlett Gaffey
Opinion
Scarlett Gaffey | The ACT is holding kids back from their right to read well
"It sounds silly but children are being taught to guess words, rather than to sound them out based on letter sounds. This approach encourages the memorisation of words instead of decoding them, which is not beneficial for developing strong reading skills. While this approach will work for some children, it doesn't work for at least 25 per cent.”
12 July 2023
The Canberra Times - Jen Cross
Opinion
Jen Cross | We must confront the myths surrounding education in the ACT
"There are strongly held myths about how schools in the ACT are performing when it comes to teaching literacy that do not align with research and data.”
Myth 1: NAPLAN data should be disregarded
Myth 2: Failure to meet reading proficiency benchmarks is only a problem for children with dyslexia and disadvantaged students
Myth 3: Teachers spend years at university learning about the science of reading
Myth 4: Providing high-quality, low-variance curriculum materials would undermine teacher autonomy
Myth 5: There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to reading
25 June 2023
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Parents call for reading instruction reform in ACT schools
"The school was teaching him to read using the three cueing system. In this method, when children come across an unfamiliar word, they are encouraged to think about what the word could be and ask themselves: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?"
"Some children can learn in that way, although it doesn't make them the most efficient reader, but there's a large cohort of children who can't learn anything in that way. They just get really stuck and they resort to guessing."
NB: An evidence-based literacy instruction approach is not a phonics-only approach. It includes explicit and systematic instruction in the teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
25 June 2023
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry says teachers should use balanced approach for reading
"What I've been hearing from the Education Directorate and from the University of Canberra is that we continuously need to consider up-to-date methods of teaching and delivery of literacy and numeracy education," Ms Berry said.
"We work really closely with the University of Canberra around that and also listening to our teaching professionals and respecting and acknowledging their professional judgement on how delivery of literacy and numeracy education in particular occurs."
20 June 2023
2CC Radio - Leon Delaney for the drive home
Hear Jessica speak with Leon Delaney about the new Equity Economics report, Raising the grade: How Schools in the Australian Capital Territory can lift literacy outcomes for students and the economy
19 June 2023
Then Canberra Times - Jessica Del Rio, Kristy Jones
Opinion
Jessica Del Rio, Kristy Jones | ACT government schools needs to change the way they teach reading
“A new report by Equity Economics has found many children are not being taught to read in a way that aligns with scientific evidence. Despite more than 40 years of scientific research on the essential skills for reading instruction, the ACT government is yet to implement a best-practice curriculum, lagging behind states like NSW and South Australia. Governments have not provided enough guidance to teachers, leaving them to figure out for themselves what to teach, what order to teach it in, how to teach it and to what level.”
19 June 2023
ABC - Susan McDonald
Significant number of Canberra school students behind in reading with calls to overhaul literacy teaching
“A report by Equity Economics, for the ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education and funded by the Snow Foundation, sets out the scale of the literacy challenge in Canberra and urges the ACT government to implement evidence-based literacy instruction in all schools.”
19 June 2023
The Riotact - James Coleman
The number of Canberra students struggling to read would fill Bruce Stadium, new report says
“The Raising the Grade report by Equity Economics (and funded by the Snow Foundation) says the percentage of ACT students below the Australian proficient standard for reading in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is growing, and the ACT Government must act fast to prevent future generations from struggling to make it into higher education or a well-paying job.”
19 June 2023
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
Equity Economics report calls for urgent rethink of reading instruction
“One in three 15-year-old students in Canberra is not meeting the reading benchmark and the ACT government should take immediate steps to provide evidence-based literacy instruction to all students, a new report has found.”
19 June 2023
ABC Radio Canberra - Adam Shirley
Hear Jessica speaking on ABC Radio Canberra with Adam Shirley about the Equity Economics report, Raising the grade: How Schools in the Australian Capital Territory can lift literacy outcomes for students and the economy
14 May 2023
The Canberra Times - The Sunday Canberra Times Editorial
ACT students being left behind by outdated teaching of reading
“A new group called the ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education has been meeting with parents, teachers, school administrators and politicians in recent months. They've called for all ACT schools to adopt teaching methods in line with the science of reading and the science of learning.”
8 May 2023
The Canberra Times - Sarah Lansdown
ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education calls for literacy teaching overhaul in ACT public schools
"The group of parents, speech pathologists, teachers and researchers formed last year with the common concern ACT children were getting left behind in literacy.
The alliance is calling for a chief literacy officer to be employed to oversee a team of literacy coaches to provide training for teachers in the explicit and systematic instruction of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
It is also calling for a universal year 1 phonics screening check and new decodable reading books for students in kindergarten and year 1."
5 May 2023
ABC Radio Canberra - Adam Shirley
Hear our representative, Jessica speaking on ABC Radio Canberra with Adam Shirley about our ACT 2023/24 Budget Submission.