Reappointed Minister for Education, Dan Tehan has declared that the literacy and numeracy test introduced to ensure graduate teachers possessed the necessary skills to run a classroom is working.
Mr Tehan said student teachers are required to pass a literacy and numeracy test with a score that puts them in the top 30 per cent of the Australian adult population.
“In 2018, 90.4 per cent of teaching students met the literacy standard and 90 per cent of students met the numeracy benchmark,” Mr Tehan said.
He said the test ensured that graduate teachers had a high level of the essential skills needed to teach children.
He said the Government recognised the difference high quality teachers made to a child’s education.
“That is why we introduced a mandatory literacy and numeracy benchmark for teaching graduates,” he said.
“As the latest test results show, ensuring teachers meet the prerequisite standard is as important as ever.”
He said a high-quality teaching performance assessment had also been introduced for students to pass prior to graduation.
He said that demonstrated that graduate teachers were classroom ready.
Mr Tehan said that phonics would also be included in university teaching courses so that new teachers could use it in the classroom, as well as funding to Teach for Australia to train more high-achieving teachers.
“Higher education providers need to take responsibility for the teaching students that do not meet the standards by ensuring they receive additional support to improve their literacy and numeracy skills,” the Minister said.
“The onus is on universities to ensure the graduates they are producing meet the high standards expected by parents and the standards that our children deserve,” he said.
