One in five Queensland students fail basic literacy standards

Concerns have been raised over what the latest global testing data revealed about the reading skills of Queensland students.

Queensland parents have been urged to read more to their young children, with the latest reading results showing the Sunshine State had plateaued.

Parents have been urged to read more to their children after the latest global testing data revealed Queensland 10-year-olds’ reading skills have plateaued over the past five years, while one in five failed to meet basic benchmarks.

The 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) showed the reading ability of Queensland’s Year 4 students has remained steady since 2016, the last time the test was carried out.

More than 920 students from 45 Queensland schools sat the tests across a three-month window from October to December 2021.

The test came weeks after the infamous Indooroopilly Covid cluster which plunged thousands of Brisbane families into lockdown.

The Sunshine State had a mean score of 540, which was level with the national mean, but trailed counterparts in the ACT, Victoria and NSW.

However, the Sunshine State only had marginal improvement from 2016-2021, which experts say could lead to students being disadvantaged.

Further, nearly one in five Queensland students (19 per cent) failed to meet basic literacy standards, with male students considerably worse than females.

Despite only a small increase, Queensland fared better than most other states between 2016 and 2021. Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory all saw their mean scores decrease in this period. Only the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia came out better than Queensland.

Australian Council for Educational Research senior research fellow Kylie Hillman said it was a concern that Queensland’s improvement had largely stagnated over the past five years.

More so was that the amount of students failing to meet critical benchmarks had only improved slightly (two-point increase) over the five years, she said.

“That proportion of students will face additional challenges to come. How do you participate in the classroom and get all the information you need if you’re struggling to read?” Ms Hillman said.

“The reason we look at Year 4 levels, is at that stage, students should have mastered how to read. So it creates a flow-on affect.

“What we need to be doing is identify the students that need extra support and for individualised support provided to address it, not a one-sized approach.”

The study showed 14 per cent of Queensland students had advanced reading levels, with no improvement from 2016.

Based on previous test cycles, Ms Hillman said basic skills taught by parents in everyday activities could assist schools in improving the trends.

“We found after 2021, the students from households whose parents reported teaching early childhood literacy skills performed better than others,” Ms Hillman said.

“(It can be) using those letter blocks to make words, reading to them, or even pointing out road signs.”

Education Minister Grace Grace said measures were in place to prevent students falling behind.

“Our new Equity and Excellence strategy for Queensland state schools has an explicit focus on lifting educational outcomes, particularly in literacy and numeracy, and ensuring no students are left behind.

“It’s positive to see that the proportion of Queensland Year 4 students meeting the Australian proficient standard is higher than the national average and above their peers in 28 out of the 35 countries assessed.

“Thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s strong health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Queensland felt minimal disruption compared to other states and the rest of the world.

“As a result, the 2021 results show that Australian Year 4 students’ literacy levels have remained steady despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the data showing no significant impact on student performance in Queensland between 2016 and 2021.”