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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Wednesday, 25 August 2004) . . Page.. 4122 ..

We should always be looking at new and innovative programs to keep students motivated and interested. I commend Ms MacDonald for bringing these improving standards to the attention of this place. I think our schools need to be commended for these improvements. Let us move forward and make even more improvements.

MS DUNDAS (11.31): Since the introduction of national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy, ACT students have done exceptionally well. In 2001, the ACT had the equal highest number of year 3 students and the highest number of year 5 students to achieve the national learning benchmark. In numeracy, ACT students also ranked highest in year 3 and second highest in year 5. The assessment methods for writing have since changed but most recently 94 per cent of year 3 students and 93 per cent of year 5 students achieved the national writing benchmarks.

Achievements for indigenous students in the last three years have dramatically improved and this is something the government should be congratulated for, although there is still work to be done in relation to numeracy outcomes for year 5 indigenous students. I acknowledge, as the minister usually points out, that there are a relatively small number of indigenous students in our system, and so the results are susceptible to variability based on the outcomes of a handful of students.

Although I will be supporting this motion, I do not simply want to congratulate the government for a job well done because I think still more work needs to be done to support those students who are falling below the benchmark. We must continue to make sure that every student meets their full potential. If a child does not have a serious disability that prevents them from meeting the benchmark, then we have to put in the effort and support them until they reach the benchmark.

Smaller class sizes must have increased the likelihood of teachers picking up on children who are being left behind but we must complement and support classroom teaching with one-on-one support. It is only through one-on-one support that the problems holding kids back can be identified and thoroughly addressed. It is remarkable how often you can come across a child in year 5 who appears to be completely competent in multiplying and dividing when presented a maths problem in figures but who is completely lost when that problem with presented to them in words—when “multiply” is spelt out as opposed to just having a little x symbol, or when the numbers are spelt out instead being represented numerically. They are not able to transfer the skills they have. Having rote-learnt the process, they do not necessarily understand how multiplication works.

Literacy is another area where rote learning can carry a child successfully through primary school, but this learning approach then breaks down in high school when students are asked to apply more sophisticated analytical skills in relation to what it is they are reading and taking on. If these kinds of fundamental gaps in learning are not addressed, a child can fall further and further behind as they progress through school. We often see results at high school level falling below primary school results and I think one-on-one support can help address that problem.

We also need to look at how we are supporting the literacy and numeracy competencies of students with ongoing disabilities. We already offer some levels of support to students with identified disabilities but, again, I think more work needs to be done in this area. It

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