Tackling chronic academic under-achievement by two in five of Australian school children would be best achieved through intensive remedial learning with small numbers of children over a 10-week period, the Grattan Institute says.declining performance of school studentsThe Grattan Institute’s proposal is for groups of three students to work with a tutor for an hour, three times a week over a 10-week period, adding such a program would be effective across all age groups.
“The economic and social benefits of getting this right are huge, because people who do well at school have access to a broader range of opportunities and go on to earn more,” said Jordana Hunter, the report’s co-author and education program director at the Grattan Institute.OECD research shows about two in five Australian students do not meet minimum standards for proficiency in reading and maths by the time they are 15.
Analysis of 2022 NAPLAN data shows the learning gap more than doubles in reading and numeracy between Year 3 and Year 9.Parents’ educational background is also predictive of academic ability. Students in Year 3 whose parents did not finish high school are two years and five months behind students whose parents have a university degree. By Year 9, the learning gap has grown to more than five years.In numeracy, the gap is four years for those whose parents did not finish high school.
The report points to growth in catch-up tuition in Australia following the pandemic. The largest, in NSW and Victoria, will involve a total of 400,000 students over three years.
Which is exactly why we need ChatGPT in classrooms. We need to improve those numbers.
Previously called parenting.