The Gillard Government gets all its educational priorities wrong
January 30, 2012
The NAPLAN 2011 that tests all Year 3,5,7 and 9 children confirms that the gaps in achievement between schools and the best and poorest students are getting wider and there has only been little improvement in literacy and numeracy since the test’s introduction.
Dr Sharman Stone, Federal Member for Murray said that the Gillard government continues to get its educational priorities wrong.
“There is little point in spending billions of dollars on buildings when the government has not supported literacy, maths and science programs.
“We still have students completing primary school who are barely able to read and write.
“Some schools are also now focusing their teaching time on the NAPLAN test itself, rather than teaching excellence throughout the curriculum.
“However, it still stands that the overall test results were poor, confirming that this Gillard Government has to redirect educational savings more appropriately and invest in educational programmes that will actually benefit the students.
“As a first world country, we should be providing the highest level quality for education instead of trailing behind our neighbours.
“The 2011 test results for individual schools are to be published by the end of February. This will give a good indication of how schools in the Murray region have fared. But we need much more than naming and blaming on a website. Where schools need extra teaching support, this should be provided,” said Sharman Stone.
Results will be published on the MySchool website: www.myschool.edu.au
Media contact: Gaayathri Periasami 0417 148 110