Federal Budget 2016: $1b back-to-basics test for schools

CHILDREN as young as five will be tested for literacy and numeracy skills on entry to school and teenagers forced to meet minimum standards to pass Year 12 under Budget reforms.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the schools funding plan was “affordable’’.

CHILDREN as young as five will be tested for literacy and numeracy skills on entry to school and teenagers forced to meet minimum standards to pass Year 12 under Budget reforms to pump an extra $1 billion into public and private schools.

The surprise boost to education spending in Tuesday’s federal Budget will outline a “back-to-basics” approach on reading and maths that will require the states to meet basic standards to qualify for new cash.

The reforms include ensuring, within a decade, that students complete an English or humanities subject and a maths or science subject before attaining an ATAR.

Any indexation of future federal funding will also be linked to the states signing onto the reforms — raising the prospect of a funding freeze for schools if states disagree.

After floating the radical idea of leaving the states to fund all public schools while the Commonwealth funded private schools, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has signed off on a $1 billion boost for all schools tied to strict new guidelines.

While five and six-year-olds are not expected to know how to read and write, the early checks may include children writing their name or finding words that rhyme to help teachers target students who need extra assistance.

Students in some states are already offered an on-entry assessment of literacy and numeracy in Year 1 but the federal government wants to mandate the checks as a condition of funding.

The new funding will also be tied to pay rises for teachers based on results, not long service, setting the scene for a battle with education unions.

The Turnbull government will argue “teachers ought not move from one pay level to the next without demonstrating they are high-performing teachers” who deliver results.

Increasing the funding for public and private schools by the Commonwealth to $73.6 billion by 2020, the $1 billion in new spending comes with strict new rules to be negotiated with the states. From 2018, the states would also be banned from reducing their real level of per-­student funding or face the loss of federal cash.

Federal Budget 2016.

Universities will also be required to ensure new teachers are taught literacy and numeracy teaching as a core skill. Specific attendance targets for indigenous students is also an issue the Commonwealth wants to discuss.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said with student results going backwards despite record expenditure, the system needed to change.

“It is completely unacceptable that the performance of our students in fundamental skills like literacy and numeracy continues to slip even while our funding continues to significantly increase,’’ Mr Birmingham said yesterday.

The new spending is less than Labor’s offer of $4.5 billion in extra funding over 2018-19. The Coalition is offering an extra $1.2 billion over 2018 to 2020.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said the schools funding plan was “affordable’’: “This guaranteed investment in our schools is being paid for with real money, not through higher taxes or bigger deficits, but by getting government expenditure under control.’’

Mr Birmingham said schools needed to provide more information to parents.