Gender gap widens in NAPLAN literacy
The gender gap is widening in every literacy subject, and it's also getting worse as students get older.
Twice as many boys as girls are failing to meet basic writing benchmarks in all year levels.
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Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
Australia's education system is becoming too feminine and is hurting the development of boys, an expert has warned Sky News
Australia's education system has become "so feminised" and more males need to be recruited to become teachers to ensure boys have positive role models, an education expert has warned Sky News. Natasha Bita, Education Editor for The Australian. told Sky News that the problems with boys' performances in NAPLAN "has been happening for a very long time" and is now getting worse, "particularly in reading and writing". She added a clear way to address it is through recruiting more male teachers, as the risk to society that this trend poses is significant. 'Most teachers are female,' she said. 'It's really hard to get a male teacher, especially in primary school. So we need to pay attention to this because at the other end, it can have very serious consequences where boys are falling into a life of crime because that's where they feel like they belong. Or they feel like failures and they're actually not, they just need a different method of teaching," she said. Ms Bita said this must be addressed in primary schools, as "if you're falling far behind in primary school in reading or writing, how are you going to do well in high school when you need to understand much more complex topics?" Ms Bita also called for a change to how boys are treated in the classroom. She said boys are increasingly being "punished for typical boy behaviour, which might be fidgeting or asking lots of questions." "I spoke to an educator in the United States a while ago who said that he would take the boys out to play a game of basketball before every exam, and they would do a lot better." The federal government has said that it is attempting to recruit more teachers through its National Teacher Workforce Action Plan which was agreed to in 2022 by state and territory education ministers. It calls for an increase in teachers across all states and territories with an emphasis on retention of existing teachers through incentives such as better pay and conditions.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
Gender gap widens in NAPLAN literacy
School-aged boys are falling significantly behind girls in literacy, according to this year's NAPLAN results. The gender gap is widening in every literacy subject, and it's also getting worse as students get older. Twice as many boys as girls are failing to meet basic writing benchmarks in all year levels.
The Advertiser
7 days ago
- The Advertiser
The Hunter high school named Australian School of the Year
IF you ask Hunter Sports High principal Rachel Byrne what makes her school stand out, she'd tell you that when young people feel safe, they excel. The high school claimed was named Australian School of the Year for the second year at the Australian Education Awards. The awards, which recognise excellence at schools across all states and territories and all education sectors, were held in Sydney on Friday, August 8. Ms Byrne said that where young people feel safe, they feel trust and can explore and take risks in their learning. "The award is such a great acknowledgement of us reimaging education and doing things differently for kids while adapting to a dynamic, complex world that our young people are moving into," she said. After winning two years in a row, Ms Byrne was proud of her staff and students. "I think winning it last year was amazing. It was just like a dream come true, and to win it back-to-back is surreal," she said. The school has a focus on personalising pathways, moving away from a traditional school where you have six-year structures from year 7 to 12, Ms Byrne said. "We've worked really hard on making sure we offer a pathway that's going to meet our students' needs. We run about 15 different year structures and not necessarily aligned to year groups or age," she said. "I've created what we call an academy structure where we have different pathways and opportunities for students, which is based on needs, interests, passions and strengths. Each academy has a different lens and focus." Ms Byrne said Hunter Sports High had seen outstanding academic growth in NAPLAN results and had been in the top 24 of schools over the last eight years to have improved HSC results. Recent student wellbeing data revealed the school was above state average in every criteria, and 20 per cent above state average in connectedness and sense of belonging. "It continues to blow me away in regards to the success we're having when we get young people in a learning environment that they want to be in," Ms Byrne said. Hunter Sports High School was also named winner of the Secondary School of the Year (Government), and principal Rachel Byrne was nominated for Principal of the Year (Government). Central Coast Grammar School was nominated for Best Co-curricular program and Non-Government Primary School of the Year. IF you ask Hunter Sports High principal Rachel Byrne what makes her school stand out, she'd tell you that when young people feel safe, they excel. The high school claimed was named Australian School of the Year for the second year at the Australian Education Awards. The awards, which recognise excellence at schools across all states and territories and all education sectors, were held in Sydney on Friday, August 8. Ms Byrne said that where young people feel safe, they feel trust and can explore and take risks in their learning. "The award is such a great acknowledgement of us reimaging education and doing things differently for kids while adapting to a dynamic, complex world that our young people are moving into," she said. After winning two years in a row, Ms Byrne was proud of her staff and students. "I think winning it last year was amazing. It was just like a dream come true, and to win it back-to-back is surreal," she said. The school has a focus on personalising pathways, moving away from a traditional school where you have six-year structures from year 7 to 12, Ms Byrne said. "We've worked really hard on making sure we offer a pathway that's going to meet our students' needs. We run about 15 different year structures and not necessarily aligned to year groups or age," she said. "I've created what we call an academy structure where we have different pathways and opportunities for students, which is based on needs, interests, passions and strengths. Each academy has a different lens and focus." Ms Byrne said Hunter Sports High had seen outstanding academic growth in NAPLAN results and had been in the top 24 of schools over the last eight years to have improved HSC results. Recent student wellbeing data revealed the school was above state average in every criteria, and 20 per cent above state average in connectedness and sense of belonging. "It continues to blow me away in regards to the success we're having when we get young people in a learning environment that they want to be in," Ms Byrne said. Hunter Sports High School was also named winner of the Secondary School of the Year (Government), and principal Rachel Byrne was nominated for Principal of the Year (Government). Central Coast Grammar School was nominated for Best Co-curricular program and Non-Government Primary School of the Year. IF you ask Hunter Sports High principal Rachel Byrne what makes her school stand out, she'd tell you that when young people feel safe, they excel. The high school claimed was named Australian School of the Year for the second year at the Australian Education Awards. The awards, which recognise excellence at schools across all states and territories and all education sectors, were held in Sydney on Friday, August 8. Ms Byrne said that where young people feel safe, they feel trust and can explore and take risks in their learning. "The award is such a great acknowledgement of us reimaging education and doing things differently for kids while adapting to a dynamic, complex world that our young people are moving into," she said. After winning two years in a row, Ms Byrne was proud of her staff and students. "I think winning it last year was amazing. It was just like a dream come true, and to win it back-to-back is surreal," she said. The school has a focus on personalising pathways, moving away from a traditional school where you have six-year structures from year 7 to 12, Ms Byrne said. "We've worked really hard on making sure we offer a pathway that's going to meet our students' needs. We run about 15 different year structures and not necessarily aligned to year groups or age," she said. "I've created what we call an academy structure where we have different pathways and opportunities for students, which is based on needs, interests, passions and strengths. Each academy has a different lens and focus." Ms Byrne said Hunter Sports High had seen outstanding academic growth in NAPLAN results and had been in the top 24 of schools over the last eight years to have improved HSC results. Recent student wellbeing data revealed the school was above state average in every criteria, and 20 per cent above state average in connectedness and sense of belonging. "It continues to blow me away in regards to the success we're having when we get young people in a learning environment that they want to be in," Ms Byrne said. Hunter Sports High School was also named winner of the Secondary School of the Year (Government), and principal Rachel Byrne was nominated for Principal of the Year (Government). Central Coast Grammar School was nominated for Best Co-curricular program and Non-Government Primary School of the Year. IF you ask Hunter Sports High principal Rachel Byrne what makes her school stand out, she'd tell you that when young people feel safe, they excel. The high school claimed was named Australian School of the Year for the second year at the Australian Education Awards. The awards, which recognise excellence at schools across all states and territories and all education sectors, were held in Sydney on Friday, August 8. Ms Byrne said that where young people feel safe, they feel trust and can explore and take risks in their learning. "The award is such a great acknowledgement of us reimaging education and doing things differently for kids while adapting to a dynamic, complex world that our young people are moving into," she said. After winning two years in a row, Ms Byrne was proud of her staff and students. "I think winning it last year was amazing. It was just like a dream come true, and to win it back-to-back is surreal," she said. The school has a focus on personalising pathways, moving away from a traditional school where you have six-year structures from year 7 to 12, Ms Byrne said. "We've worked really hard on making sure we offer a pathway that's going to meet our students' needs. We run about 15 different year structures and not necessarily aligned to year groups or age," she said. "I've created what we call an academy structure where we have different pathways and opportunities for students, which is based on needs, interests, passions and strengths. Each academy has a different lens and focus." Ms Byrne said Hunter Sports High had seen outstanding academic growth in NAPLAN results and had been in the top 24 of schools over the last eight years to have improved HSC results. Recent student wellbeing data revealed the school was above state average in every criteria, and 20 per cent above state average in connectedness and sense of belonging. "It continues to blow me away in regards to the success we're having when we get young people in a learning environment that they want to be in," Ms Byrne said. Hunter Sports High School was also named winner of the Secondary School of the Year (Government), and principal Rachel Byrne was nominated for Principal of the Year (Government). Central Coast Grammar School was nominated for Best Co-curricular program and Non-Government Primary School of the Year.
