The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted an online survey and a series of interviews as part of a project commissioned by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO).

The survey and interviews were focused on students in Years 7 to 9 who lack the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that are required to engage with a secondary curriculum, in schools where most students have these skills. The students in scope are likely to struggle to engage in classes without significant differentiation on the part of classroom teachers, and the skill disparity may be so great that differentiating lessons for them is not feasible. 

The project sought to address four questions.

1. What methods and/or assessments do schools use to identify students in this cohort?
2. What frameworks do schools use to make decisions on how to support these students?
3. What supports are provided?
4. What confidence do school leaders and teachers have in the approaches currently used?