ACARA news, May 2020

National Report on Schooling 2018 released

The National Report on Schooling in Australia for 2018 has been released today. ACARA produces this report on behalf of the COAG Education Council. 

The 2018 report includes a summary of nationally agreed policy initiatives and a report on national key performance measures. A dashboard represents any statistically significant changes in key performance measures.

Data reported for 2018 include that:

• The national school enrolment rate for the 6–15-year-old population was 99.7 per cent.
• The average national attendance rate for all students (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) in Years 1–10 was 91.9 per cent. Average attendance rates were higher for Years 1–6 than for Years 7–10.
• At 82.3 per cent, the average attendance rate for Indigenous students was 10.2 percentage points lower than for non-Indigenous students (92.5 per cent). This gap increased by 0.4 percentage points from 2017.
• Three quarters (75.2 per cent) of all Australian students in Years 1–10 attended school for at least 90 per cent of school days. However, less than half (48.7 per cent) of Indigenous students within this group met the 90 per cent benchmark.
• NAPLAN participation rates were over 90 per cent for reading and writing for each of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and for numeracy for Years 3, 5 and 7. Year 9 participation rates were lower than for other years across all domains.

ACARA’s online data portal was also recently updated with the latest 2018 and 2019 data available. Information updated on the data portal in April 2020 includes the latest available data for: 

• key performance measures for schooling
• school numbers, student numbers and staff numbers
• student–teacher ratios
• student enrolment and retention rates
• school funding
• school students with disability
• NAP Sample – Science Literacy
• teacher education.   

See the National Report on Schooling and the data portal.

New resources on the AC website

ACARA continues to publish new resources on the Australian Curriculum website. Recently, we published work sample portfolios for Arabic and Science, and the first illustration of practice for the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages.

The work sample portfolios for Arabic provide teachers with a range of samples that are at satisfactory level and support teachers to make on-balance judgement about student learning over time, in relation to the achievement standard.

‘I’m learning my language, on my land, and it makes me feel happy.’ The illustration of practice for the Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages demonstrates the whole school and community approach to the Adnyamathanha language, and culture teaching and learning, with students from the Leigh Creek Area School learning and engaging with the Adnyamathanha language and culture in the classroom and on Country. The illustration includes a range of resources and demonstrates different contexts for, and flexible ways of, using the framework.

New examples of student work in Science are now available for Years 7–10. The sample portfolios cover a wide range of science topics and task types, showcasing student achievement both at satisfactory and above satisfactory level. The portfolios support teachers to make on-balance judgements about student learning over time, in relation to the achievement standard.

Top five qualities of a great teacher

In this vlog, David DeCarvalho, ACARA CEO, reflects on five of the most significant qualities he believes make a great teacher. David also reveals how his maths teacher and his passion for mathematics inspired this vlog series, ‘Fanning the flames of wonder’.

Visit the ACARA blog to listen