Mark Latham slams ACER grammar exam that asks students about ‘dirty’ coal

A question to test grammar that asks about ‘dirty’ coal has been accused of trying to brainwash primary school-aged children.

Is coal A) dirty B) dirtier C) most dirty or D) more dirty?

That was the question posed to thousands of nine and 10-year-old children across the country over the past decade to assess their grammar skills, but has angered parents and come under criticism from energy experts who say it pushes an agenda that oversimplifies the natural resource as being evil.

Students sitting the test are asked to fill in the blank “Coal is widely regarded as the ____ form of energy in the world.”

The loaded question was devised by private outfit the Australian Council for Education Research in 2011, whose CEO Geoff Masters conducted a review of the NSW curriculum in 2018.

It is still in use today.

NSW upper house MP Mark Latham on Thursday called on Education Minister Sarah Mitchell to have the question axed from the test.

The question contained in the ACER Year 5 grammar test.

“I regard the adults doing this as sick to use children as political guinea pigs. And I say to those adults, whether they’re teachers or crafting these questions, if you’re so obsessed with politics, run for elected office,” he said.

“The NSW Department of Education should step in and read the riot act and say no more politics, no more gratuitous political indoctrination questions, just stick to the grammar in a politically neutral way.

“The grammar question is not ‘Coal plays an A) useful B) very useful C) incredibly useful. D) a more useful role in keeping the lights on and employing people’.

“You’re never going to see that other side of the argument. It is always a left woke agenda.”

Grattan Institute energy expert Tony Wood said while renewables were objectively a cleaner source of energy, it was not helpful to demonise coal, particularly on grammar tests in primary school.

“Sometimes we get into the sort of good and bad, almost moral type language which gets people very, very uncomfortable because you could argue we wouldn’t have our modern way of life without energy like coal and oil and gas,” he said.

“Just to demonise them seems over the top. When you say coal is dirty, what you do is make some of the parents really cross and that’s not helpful.”

Upper house MLC Mark Latham says pushing ideology about coal onto students is unacceptable.

Mr Wood noted there were also issues now with how renewable products such as solar panels, wind turbines and lithium batteries were disposed of.

“There’s a huge issue here about the curriculum and the way teachers are educated about a whole range of issues — and pretending it’s simple is not the way to do it,” he said.

Ms Mitchell would not answer questions about exactly how many schools used the tests, but said “Students do not learn about ‘dirty coal’ in school”.

An Education Department spokesman said: “We do not promote the use of these assessments.”

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