News
Back to basics for schools
A damning report into the way reading is taught in Australian schools has called for the country to implement back-to-basics learning methods in a bid to boost literacy
The report, commissioned by education minister Brendan Nelson and prepared by a panel of parents, teachers and academics, calls for the teaching of phonics – the system of learning letter sounds – to be reintroduced into Oz classrooms.
The system of learning to read through phonics is described as being "fundamental to success in boosting literacy" by the report, and claims that the current 'whole language' system of teaching children to read "has failed struggling students". "Too many of our children are not achieving even minimum standards in reading," said Nelson after the report's release. "In 2003, eight per cent of Year 3 children and 11 per cent of Years 5 and 7 children did not achieve minimum national benchmarks and the results for indigenous children are even more disturbing,"
"It is unacceptable that a significant number of Australian children are barely able to read and write," added Nelson. In the wake of the report Nelson has announced that school children will now be tested every six months in their first three years of schooling so their reading progress can be closely monitored.
All trainee teachers will also now face a test to prove that they can read, write and teach phonics before they will be employed.
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12 December 2006