EDUCATION BAD SPELL
Hundreds of Victorian kids get every question wrong on test
HUNDREDS of Grade 3 students in Victoria failed to answer a single spelling question correctly in this year’s NAPLAN tests.
More than 1000 Grade 3 students scored zero in spelling, with questions asking them to correctly spell words such as bell, grow, noise and splashed.
Data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority also shows hundreds of Grade 5 pupils answered less than a quarter of maths questions accurately, while thousands of Year 9 students stumbled on more than two-thirds of grammar and punctuation questions.
The NAPLAN results have renewed criticism of the “dumbed down” national minimum standards.
Grade 3 students achieved the benchmark by correctly answering just one of 25 spelling questions.
Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 had to answer just three spelling question accurately.
Dr Kevin Donnelly, from the Australian Catholic University, said the minimum standards distorted student performance and left Australia lagging on the global stage.
“If you set the bar too low, you have underperforming students believing they are satisfactory,” Dr Donnelly said.
“Overseas, in countries ahead of us, there are strong expectations and a commitment to excellence.
“In Australia, we have a dumb it down, don’t worry, everybody wins approach.”
ACARA is developing a new “proficiency” benchmark to run alongside the national minimum standards, after repeated calls over the past five years. But it is yet to be submitted to states and territory leaders for approval.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the proficiency standard made “perfect sense”.
“Australian parents want to know more than if their child is just meeting the bare minimum standards,” he said.
“They want to know if they are confident, competent and skilled in the basics of their literacy and numeracy.”
Victorian Education Minister James Merlino also supported the tougher benchmark, saying the minimum standards were “too low”. “We want to lift the performance of all kids — not just reach minimum standards,” he said.
But opposition education spokesman Tim Smith said the government had failed to improve results, despite “all the fanfare”.