EVERY year since 1945, the Children's Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through Children's Book Week.
And it’s in full swing again now, clearly with the focus, as usual, on dressing up as your favourite book character.
But it’s an opportunity to put the emphasis on the importance of learning and loving to read.
Children’s Book Week runs from Saturday, August 19 to Friday, August 25, with the theme in 2023 being “read, grow, inspire’ but it’s also an opportunity to look at how we’re doing with our literacy levels in Victoria – pretty well we are told.
Students in Victoria, ‘the Education State’ have topped the nation in this year’s NAPLAN results recording ongoing improvement at both primary and secondary levels, according to a statement from the government this week.
However, there has been criticism in some quarters.
In an article in the Herald-Sun, they say that while Victorian students are doing best in Australia in Year 3 Reading, and Numeracy, and in Year 5, 7 and 9 Writing; “results trail off in latter years, and by Year 9, our students are behind other states in Numeracy, Reading and Spelling.
They say the figures indicate 28.9 per cent of students are now classified as needing additional support, but better than the national average of 32.8 per cent.
Clearly there needs to be a definitive statement about how our kids are going.
Education Minister Natalie Hutchins has come out this week saying the 2023 national NAPLAN results are “a resounding endorsement of Victorian students’ hard work, our world class teachers and the profound effect of the Andrews Labor Government’s increased investment in schools with a record $30.8 billion invested in Victorian schools since coming to office.”
Victoria, she says, is ranked first or second in 16 of the 20 NAPLAN domains – one of the state’s best-ever results, and higher than any other state or territory in the nation.
“These phenomenal results are more than statistics – they are a tribute to the extraordinary work and efforts of Victorian kids, teachers, principals, parents and carers,” said Minister Hutchins.
“We are so proud to see such positive results, particularly among our primary years, and it is a clear indicator that we are delivering nation-leading education to a generation of Victorian students in the Education State.
“Since individual results were released a month ago, schools have been working on targeted learning support for those students who need additional support – and on extending the talents and skills of our highest achievers.”
Students at primary school lead the state’s stellar results, ranking first or second in every domain in Years 3 and 5.
The early years of school are critical for establishing a strong foundation for learning – and with more than 70 per cent of Year 3 and 80 per cent of Year 5 students in the ‘strong’ or ‘exceeding proficiency’ levels for reading, Victorian students are setting themselves up for success.
Victoria also topped the nation in Year 3 reading and numeracy and retained first place in Years 5, 7 and 9 writing.
In addition to high-achieving students, these results are proof that Victorian schools are identifying and supporting students who need extra assistance throughout their schooling, with the lowest or second-lowest proportion of students needing additional support in all 20 domains.
There is always more work to do right across Australia, and the NAPLAN results point to the need to keep lifting numeracy results, as well as continuing our work to close the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students.
The Labor Government’s support systems for disadvantaged students are producing results – compared to other states and territories, Victorian kids facing disadvantage have achieved higher results in all of the primary school NAPLAN domains.
In addition to the Education State reforms and the nation’s biggest school infrastructure build, these results show the dividends that wellbeing investments – like the Labor Government’s more than $600 million investment in tailored school mental health support – pay in supporting students to focus on excelling in their studies.
This year was the first time NAPLAN has been sat with changes agreed by all Australian education ministers to make reporting easier for schools and parents to understand, and ensure teachers have more time to implement any support NAPLAN identifies that students might need.
The tests are now sat in March rather than May, so results – and extra assistance for students – can be delivered earlier in the year. NAPLAN is now sat online to allow for more nuanced testing than paper tests, and the results structure has changed to represent student achievement against a reasonable expectation of their year level.