NAPLAN — WRITING RESULTS
523. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the Minister for Education and
Training:
I refer to last year's NAPLAN results indicating
there has been a significant statistical decline in writing ability across
years 5, 7 and 9 and the fact that three in 10 students are dropping out of
high school early or completing year 12 without a Western Australian
Certificate of Education.
(1) What
measures is the WA government taking to address declining writing standards in
our public schools?
(2) Does the government have any plans to review the WA state
curriculum?
(3) If yes, to (2), which parts?
(4) How many
student teachers in the last 12 months had to take the Literacy and Numeracy
Test for Initial Teacher Education more than once?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) Effective
teaching is the key to improving student writing. Examples of specific actions
taken to improve the teaching of writing in Western Australian public schools
include a $3.5 million three-year partnership with Curtin University to
establish the Centre for Excellence in the Explicit Teaching of Literacy to
strengthen and extend the explicit teaching of literacy, including writing;
delivery of the three-day leading writing improvement professional learning
course to over 500 school leaders and teachers; and development of teaching
resources for upper primary and lower secondary teachers to improve year 7
NAPLAN writing results.
(2)–(3)
The Western Australian government does not
have any plans to review the state curriculum. However, during 2019, the School
Curriculum and Standards Authority will undertake normal reviewing processes of
the following syllabuses: year 11 and 12 integrated science, general; year 11 and
12 animal production systems—Australian tertiary admission rank; year
11 and 12 plant production systems, ATAR; year 11 and 12 media production and
analysis, ATAR; year 11 and 12 geography, ATAR; year 11 and 12 drama, ATAR;
year 12 Physical Education Studies, ATAR; and year 12 English as an additional
language/dialect, ATAR.
(4) Neither
the WA Department of Education nor the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia
hold technical data on the number of resits of the Literacy and Numeracy Test
for Initial Teacher Education in the last 12 months.