PISA results: NSW has suffered the biggest drops in Australia
The performance of NSW students in two particular subjects has dropped more than any other jurisdiction in Australia, with schoolchildren now more than a full academic year behind where they were in 2000.
Schools Hub
Don't miss out on the headlines from Schools Hub. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Public schools outperformed by ex-Eastern Bloc countries
- New rules for childcare centres making it easier for parents
The performance of NSW students in reading and science has dropped more than any other jurisdiction in Australia, with the state’s children now more than a full academic year behind where they were in 2000 in both subjects.
Mathematical literacy also dropped, with now only just over half of NSW students reaching the National Proficient Standard in the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2018.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell declared the state’s results were “disappointing”.
For reading, NSW dropped 45 points between tests in 2000 and 2018 — the equivalent of one and one third of a year of schooling, the biggest decline of any Australian state.
In that subject, only 11 per cent of students were considered “high performers” — a decrease of 7 per cent since 2000.
Over the same period the number of low performers increased by 12 per cent, making up 22 per cent of all students in last year’s test.
Boys’ reading ability has decreased faster than girls, dropping 48 points between 2000 and 2018, while girls dropped by 44 points — the equivalent of more than a full year of school.
Australian Council for Educational Research Deputy CEO Dr Sue Thomson said the fall in reading was “extremely substantial”.
GO TO OUR SCHOOLS HUBS FOR ALL THE LATEST EDUCATION NEWS
“That means kids in 2000 were about one and a third years ahead of kids in 2018,” she said.
“I think the fact that NSW has just had the curriculum review that Geoff Masters did, points to the fact that there was something going on there and there were issues known.”
She said it was not just reading, but also standards in science and maths had also declined.
While 59 per cent of Australian students attained the National Proficient Standard in reading, in NSW that figure was only 56 per cent.
MORE PISA RESULTS
Australian schools failing our kids in shocking report
School curriculum in shambles as rankings decline
Time-poor teachers too busy ticking boxes: Experts
“The brightest kids aren’t getting as high a score and the middle kids are lower, and the weaker kids are lower as well, it has moved right down across the spectrum,” she said.
In maths only 52 per cent of NSW students attained the National Proficient Standard, below the Australian average of 54 per cent.
NSW results declined by 38 points between 2003 and 2018 — the equivalent of full year of mathematics tuition.
In science NSW also fared worse than the Australian average, with just 55 per cent of students attaining the National Proficient Standard, compared with 58 per cent of Australian students.
NSW’s science results had the largest decline of all the states of 39 points from 2006 and 2018 — more than a year of school.
Director of the Gonski Institute for Education Adrian Piccoli said the state’s decline across the board showed the selective school system was not working.
“In NSW we have more selective schools than any other state in the country and that is clearly not working,” he said.
“The high end students are not performing as well and the low end students are not performing as well.
“We concentrate high performing in kids in one school, and we concentrate low performing disadvantaged kids into other schools and that is a major structural problem.”
He also said screen use has risen among children and was affecting their literacy skills.
Mel Wise, whose 7-year-old son Zak is in Year 1 at Manly Village Public School, said she believed technology in classrooms was partly responsible for the drop in performance.
“There is a lot more pressure on all the kids but it is not working,” she said.
“There is a confusion around technology (in the classroom) and it is a distraction.”
Centre for Studies education researcher Blaise Joseph said low expectations were responsible for the poor performance across reading, maths and science.
“Overall, we have lower expectations and standards every year, we have lower expectations of teacher training, teacher quality and every year our expectations seem to go down,” he said.
He said the poor maths and science results for NSW could be linked with poor reading results because the PISA test required extensive reading of maths questions.
“In NAPLAN tests you need to know a few numbers, you can get the answer. With the PISA tests, you have to wade through quite a lot of (text) to figure out what the question is asking,” he said.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said while the results were disappointing, she said they reinforced the importance of the NSW curriculum review which was unveiled earlier this year
“We know that other jurisdictions have seen positive results from a back-to-basics approach and these are reflected in their PISA rankings. I look forward to receiving the NSW Curriculum review’s final recommendations in early 2020,” she said.
“PISA tests the way students apply their learning and it is clear that our curriculum is currently lacking in this regard. This is why we are presently undertaking the first comprehensive review of the NSW Curriculum in more than 30 years.”
She said the government was raising teaching standards, providing more support for both staff and students and revising the way we teach in NSW.