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More Teachers And New Literacy And Numeracy Standards

21 October 2018

Hundreds of new expert teachers will help lift Victorian students’ literacy and numeracy standards, as part of the biggest overhaul of the VCE and VCAL in decades.

The Andrews Labor Government will introduce new literacy and numeracy standards that will be reported as part of VCE and VCAL results. Victoria is currently the only state not to explicitly include or plan to include literacy and numeracy standards as part of its senior secondary reporting.

As part of these reforms, and to ensure that struggling students get the targeted support they need to meet these standards, the Andrews Labor Government will invest $187 million to provide direct, individual support and tuition for those students that need it the most.

This is the single biggest investment in individualised support in the state’s history, giving students every opportunity to complete their secondary school with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed. The funding will provide 700 expertly trained teachers over the next four years, who will lead their colleagues in improving literacy and numeracy training in all government secondary school classrooms.

The change follows the Minister for Education James Merlino’s referral of this matter to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to investigate options for changes to the VCE and VCAL. After a thorough investigation, the VCAA found there is value in explicitly reporting senior secondary students’ literacy and numeracy attainment levels as part of their VCE and VCAL certification.

It has been long called for by employers and will help ensure all of our kids are ready to enter the workforce with the foundational skills they need to succeed.

From 2021, students completing VCE or VCAL will, as part of their General Achievement Test results, receive information about whether they have demonstrated or exceeded the literacy and numeracy standards typically expected of those entering the workforce from school.

The GAT, which is already completed by students studying a Unit 3/4 VCE subject, will be modified to include explicit assessments of common reading, writing and numeracy standards for both VCE and VCAL students. Students that perform below national minimum standards in Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN will receive individualised support delivered by expertly trained teachers.

Importantly, under an Andrews Labor Government, this support will begin in 2019 to ensure all students will receive the individual support they need before the changes to the Year 12 reporting come into effect in 2021. This new reporting and support will help employers, who have been calling for simple and clear indicators on the job readiness of young people.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino

“We don’t want a situation where a student is completing their schooling without being able to meet minimum literacy and numeracy standards. This is a change that has been called for by employers for some time, and with this additional support we will give every student the opportunity to be job ready.”

“Only Labor will increase support for students to ensure they have the help they need and are ready to meet the challenges of working in the 21st century.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

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