Education 'fads' key to poor result

THE Coalition says Labor is to blame for Australia's education record as new data places us last amongst English speaking nations.

THE Coalition says Labor is to blame for Australia's education record as new data places us last amongst English speaking nations.

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the test results, which placed Australia 27th of the 48 nations tested, were "catastrophic".

"Labor is to blame for not focusing on the issues that matter for young children in schools," Mr Pyne told The Australian.

"(Schools Minister) Peter Garrett talks endlessly about increased spending but money isn't always the answer.

"Labor is responsible for continuing to allow 'faddism' to rule in our education systems rather than a relentless determination to return traditional teaching values like direct instruction into our schools."

Mr Pyne said if elected the Coalition would focus on improving teacher quality and "embedding the characteristics of non-government school governance in the government system".

"We need to have an honest debate about the failure of our school system," he said.

In the first international reading test of Australian primary schools, about 25 per cent of the nation's Year 4 students failed to meet the minimum standard in reading for their age, rising to more than 30 per cent in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Australia's ranking was comparable with Bulgaria, Slovenia and Lithuania, and significantly behind the leaders Hong Kong, Russia and Finland, as well as the US and England.

A test of maths and science among Year 4 and Year 8 students also showed Australian students' skills had stagnated over the past 16 years, while some countries, notably in Asia, had greatly improved.

Schools Minister Peter Garrett described the figures as a "wake-up call" but said that they confirmed the government was on the right track in its focus on boosting the education sector.

"This is the first time we've ever done the literacy test and I'm extremely concerned at what we're seeing in terms of primary school kids and their literacy capacity," Mr Garrett told ABC radio.

"The fact remains that as a nation we cannot afford to leave so many kids behind in their education results and we need that national plan for school improvement to be agreed by the states."

Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg said Labor was "absolutely to blame" for the poor results.

"Those kids in grade four started their schooling when Labor was in government. So Labor is just passing the buck again," he told Sky News.

"I think you can absolutely blame the Labor government. I mean they live in a parallel universe, they are responsible for the failures in our school."

Labor backbencher Ed Husic said the figures simply re-emphasised the commitment Labor had to education.

"Really this emphasises that we've got to get ahead in terms of school investment and make sure that we make these results a thing of the past," Mr Husic said.