The reading literacy of Australian 15-year-old students has fallen sharply over the past decade, results from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal. The Australian national report shows Australia’s results have also slipped in mathematics but held ground in science. PISA measures how well 15-year-olds from across the globe are prepared to use...

Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this briefing paper explores the impact of literacy and numeracy levels on the educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. The paper focuses on the early post-school outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people between 1999 and 2007. Raising the levels of literacy and numeracy...

Partnerships between literacy teachers and community service workers have the potential to engage people with low literacy levels in learning. Through interviews and surveys with these two groups, this paper explores their views on literacy, how it impacts on their work, and their ideas about partnerships with each other. Overall, partnerships are viewed more favourably...

In an effort to better understand the ways in which young people’s learning and expression are being shaped by mobile and digital technologies, the Pearson Foundation released “The Digital World of Young Children: Emergent Literacy,” a research white paper on the effects of digital media on young children’s learning at the 2010 Consortium for School...

The NAPLAN involves all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 being assessed using common tests nationwide. Student performance can also be shown on a single scale that continues from Year 3 to Year 9, which will enable parents to see their child’s progress over time. The report includes results for Indigenous students, students...