Queensland kids struggle with ABCs

CHILDREN in Queensland are among the worst in the nation for literacy, according to an international report which also raised concerns Aussie prep-aged children are going to school unable to recognise letters of the alphabet.

It found Australian Year 4 students’ reading abilities were significantly lower than 13 other countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, England, the Russian Federation, Finland and Poland.

One expert said a social class divide between Australia’s top performing students and the lowest was dragging the scores down, while Queensland’s vast regional and rural areas could also be having an impact on the state.

But the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study did find that Queensland students recorded one of the biggest improvements in the country since the study was last undertaken five years ago.