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Sydney Morning Herald
29-07-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Queensland gets gold star for NAPLAN participation amid cyclone chaos
Queensland students have received a gold star from a national education authority for the greatest improvement in NAPLAN participation rates, despite uptake remaining the lowest of any state. With Cyclone Alfred tearing a path through the 2025 testing period, forcing affected south-east schools to push back testing by up to four days, almost 260,000 students in years 3, 5, 7, and 9 ended up sitting the nationwide standardised tests. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive Stephen Gniel said Queensland's spike in participation rates was 'a testament to the efforts of its education community'. 'When you consider [the cyclone], the fact that Queensland achieved its highest participation rate across all year levels since 2019, at 89.7 per cent, is an impressive achievement,' he said. Gniel said national participation rates had largely rebounded to pre-COVID levels, with 93.8 per cent of students making at least one test attempt – the highest rate since 2017. Despite an overall 2.4 percentage point increase in average participation rates from 2024 to 2025, Queensland remained the only state with an overall participation rate below 90 per cent. The number of year 9 students in Queensland sitting the test was even lower, with about two in every 10 students skipping NAPLAN, however this was an increase on the state's all-time low in 2022. The Northern Territory recorded the lowest participation rate of all Australian states and territories, but had the highest proportion of students in regional, remote, or very remote locations.
The Age
29-07-2025
- General
- The Age
Queensland gets gold star for NAPLAN participation amid cyclone chaos
Queensland students have received a gold star from a national education authority for the greatest improvement in NAPLAN participation rates, despite uptake remaining the lowest of any state. With Cyclone Alfred tearing a path through the 2025 testing period, forcing affected south-east schools to push back testing by up to four days, almost 260,000 students in years 3, 5, 7, and 9 ended up sitting the nationwide standardised tests. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority chief executive Stephen Gniel said Queensland's spike in participation rates was 'a testament to the efforts of its education community'. 'When you consider [the cyclone], the fact that Queensland achieved its highest participation rate across all year levels since 2019, at 89.7 per cent, is an impressive achievement,' he said. Gniel said national participation rates had largely rebounded to pre-COVID levels, with 93.8 per cent of students making at least one test attempt – the highest rate since 2017. Despite an overall 2.4 percentage point increase in average participation rates from 2024 to 2025, Queensland remained the only state with an overall participation rate below 90 per cent. The number of year 9 students in Queensland sitting the test was even lower, with about two in every 10 students skipping NAPLAN, however this was an increase on the state's all-time low in 2022. The Northern Territory recorded the lowest participation rate of all Australian states and territories, but had the highest proportion of students in regional, remote, or very remote locations.
Perth Now
13-05-2025
- General
- Perth Now
Shocking rate of kids skipping school
School attendance levels have dipped for another year, with the number of students attending classes falling below pre-Covid-19 levels. Across Australia, the attendance rate for students in primary schools and high schools was 88.3 per cent, a slight dip from the same period the year before. However, attendance levels – the percentage of students with attendance at or above 90 per cent – show a different story. School attendance levels have dipped for another year. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall Credit: News Corp Australia According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the 2024 attendance levels of students attending at least 90 per cent of their classes across government, Catholic and independent schools were 59.8 per cent – a sharp decline from the 74.9 per cent attendance levels in 2019. School attendance levels vary in each state, though attendance rates are generally higher in big cities compared with regional areas. There's also a significant gap with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending school compared with non-Indigenous students, though these figures have narrowed slightly by 0.7 percentage points. The pandemic played a role in these figures, but it's not entirely to blame. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia A Department of Education spokesman said the increase in students wagging classes was concerning, and 'every day of school missed is a day of learning lost'. 'Regular school attendance is critical to successful student outcomes and engagement,' they told NewsWire. While the pandemic had a role to play in this figure, they said the 'national school attendance rates have trended downwards over the past decade'. 'The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated this trend,' they said, adding 'while national student attendance rates have improved from the lows of the pandemic, they are yet to return to pre-Covid levels'. 'They are not at an all time low,' they said. Students have not been attending as many classes over the last decade. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall Credit: News Corp Australia There were several reasons for the sudden decline in attendance levels, including 'anxiety and worry', Australian Primary Principals Association president Angela Falkenberg told NewsWire. 'Schools look at each student and their family to understand the reasons for non-attendance,' she said, explaining schools will complete 'conversations' with kids and parents to explain their absences. While she said it was 'vital' for schools to work with parents and families to ensure children were in class, Ms Falkenberg admitted that this 'may not always be a reality'. 'Some (truancy) can be due to anxiety and worry which can result in poor sleep,' she said. Another reason why students may not be able to attend school comes down to issues at home, including 'family discord, poor mental health, food and housing insecurity and even transport to school'. 'Some might be due to children's friendship struggles,' they said. 'Schools can work with the child on managing conflict (or) joining in a game.' Anxiety, stress and family issues may contribute to children skipping school. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall Credit: News Corp Australia In April 2024, the Senate Education and Employment References Committee issued an inquiry into the national trend of school refusal and related matters. Following the inquiry, the Department of Education spokesman said the education ministers 'agreed that wellbeing for learning and engagement is one of the priority areas of the agreements, and reforms include initiatives which support student engagement in learning, for example through greater student participation, attendance, inclusion and/or enhanced school-family engagement'.
West Australian
13-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
‘Trending downwards': Shock as school attendance drops below pre-Covid levels
School attendance levels have dipped for another year, with the number of students attending classes falling below pre-Covid-19 levels. Across Australia, the attendance rate for students in primary schools and high schools was 88.3 per cent, a slight dip from the same period the year before. However, attendance levels – the percentage of students with attendance at or above 90 per cent – show a different story. According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority ( ACARA ), the 2024 attendance levels of students attending at least 90 per cent of their classes across government, Catholic and independent schools were 59.8 per cent – a sharp decline from the 74.9 per cent attendance levels in 2019. School attendance levels vary in each state, though attendance rates are generally higher in big cities compared with regional areas. There's also a significant gap with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending school compared with non-Indigenous students, though these figures have narrowed slightly by 0.7 percentage points. A Department of Education spokesman said the increase in students wagging classes was concerning, and 'every day of school missed is a day of learning lost'. 'Regular school attendance is critical to successful student outcomes and engagement,' they told NewsWire. While the pandemic had a role to play in this figure, they said the 'national school attendance rates have trended downwards over the past decade'. 'The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated this trend,' they said, adding 'while national student attendance rates have improved from the lows of the pandemic, they are yet to return to pre-Covid levels'. 'They are not at an all time low,' they said. There were several reasons for the sudden decline in attendance levels, including 'anxiety and worry', Australian Primary Principals Association president Angela Falkenberg told NewsWire. 'Schools look at each student and their family to understand the reasons for non-attendance,' she said, explaining schools will complete 'conversations' with kids and parents to explain their absences. While she said it was 'vital' for schools to work with parents and families to ensure children were in class, Ms Falkenberg admitted that this 'may not always be a reality'. 'Some (truancy) can be due to anxiety and worry which can result in poor sleep,' she said. Another reason why students may not be able to attend school comes down to issues at home, including 'family discord, poor mental health, food and housing insecurity and even transport to school'. 'Some might be due to children's friendship struggles,' they said. 'Schools can work with the child on managing conflict (or) joining in a game.' In April 2024, the Senate Education and Employment References Committee issued an inquiry into the national trend of school refusal and related matters. Following the inquiry, the Department of Education spokesman said the education ministers 'agreed that wellbeing for learning and engagement is one of the priority areas of the agreements, and reforms include initiatives which support student engagement in learning, for example through greater student participation, attendance, inclusion and/or enhanced school-family engagement'.
The Age
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Counting controversy: IPA sticks to claim that maths curriculum is 3500 pages long
Colleen Harkin, director of the Institute of Public Affairs' schools program and research fellow, recently alarmed the good people of LinkedIn by posting four bulging binders full of Australia's maths curriculum, next to Singapore's slimline curriculum. Harkin explained that Australia's prep to year 10 maths curriculum is '3500 pages long – bursting with ideology: climate change, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders History and Culture, Sustainability, social justice etc ( yes – this is in maths).' According to Harkin, Singapore's maths curriculum is about 80 pages long with 'no ideological pollution'. Astounding. Shocking. Also untrue, according to the body that writes the curriculum. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority says the foundation-to-year-10 maths curriculum is only 273 pages long, including optional resources. The core content – the achievement standards and content descriptions – comes in at a whopping 33 pages. In the face of doubters, Harkin posted to LinkedIn that she would be sticking to her guns: 'Unsurprisingly, some people cannot believe the image of our math curriculum. (See my immediate past post). I don't blame them.' Harkin later told CBD that it would not be honest to suggest that the national curriculum is straightforward. More layers of the onion
