Tassie students results flop

TASMANIA’S literacy and numeracy performance in schools remains below the national average, figures show. The State Government revealed that despite the results there were some bright spots, with the performance of several individual schools improving dramatically. And Acting Education Minister Lisa Singh was upbeat about the results, saying they proved Tasmania was keeping pace with other states and territories. But Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief economist Richard Dowling said the results showed that promised progress in educational results was not happening. “This would indicate that our school system is letting down our children, particularly those from poorer backgrounds,” he said. “We cannot let our lower socio-economic background be used as an excuse for lower performance levels.” Of the Federal Government’s literacy and numeracy benchmarks, only one in Tasmania — in grade 3 writing — is above the national average. A significant decline was in year 7, where in every category the result was below last year’s levels and below the national average. Read more here

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Lisa Singh, ABC picture