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Literacy test
Children to be tested for literacy
The Courier Mail - 11/11/2005
Samantha Maiden
Every child in Australia will be tested for literacy when they start school and then regularly over the next three years under a national action plan to help struggling students.
A national inquiry has also suggested that children's reading results be available to teachers if the child moves interstate or to a different school.
Parents would be given regular updates on their child's performance, with a report twice a year for the first three years to schooling.
The report, Teaching Reading, was commissioned by Education Minister Brendan Nelson amid fears that current teaching methods were failing Australia's children.
It contains an explicit warning that Australia's schools should embrace "systematic, direct phonics instruction so that children master the essential alphabetic code breaking skill required for foundational reading proficiency".
The warning follows a controversial, worldwide debate on which of two approaches is better - the phonics instruction method, or the "whole language" method, a "holistic" approach in which children are immersed in language and words, instead of learning first to break down words.
While acknowledging that the OECD indicators 2005 report Education at a Glance shows Australian school students compare well against overseas students, the report finds "a significant minority of children in Australian schools continue to face difficulties in acquiring acceptable levels of literacy and numeracy".
While both phonics and whole-language methods can help some children, the report recommends that phonics be the starting point.
"Systematic phonics instruction is critical if children are to be taught to read well, whether or not they experience reading difficulties," it finds.
"The inquiry found strong evidence that a whole-language approach to the teaching of reading on its own is not in the best interests of children, particularly those experiencing reading difficulties.
"Moreover, where there is unsystematic or no phonics instruction, children's literacy progress is significantly impeded, inhibiting their initial and subsequent growth in reading accuracy, fluency, writing, spelling and comprehension."
The report recommends that the current assessment of students' literacy results against national benchmarks be extended so results of individual children are available for diagnostic and intervention purposes.
"To assist the transfer of achievement information as students move from school to school and from state to state, mechanisms are also proposed to make this process a long overdue reality," it states.
"The committee recommends … nation ally consistent assessments on entry to school be undertaken for every child, and these link to future assessments. A confidential mechanism such as a unique student identifier should be established to enable information on an individual child's performance to follow the child regardless of location, and to monitor a child's progress throughout schooling."
Earlier this week, Dr Nelson backed national testing on basic literacy skills for trainee teachers when they enter university and when they graduate.
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