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Questions and Answers on the National School
English Literacy Survey
Index of questions
Why was
the Survey conducted?
What
did the Survey set out to do?
How much did the Survey
cost?
Who managed the Survey?
Who undertook the Survey?
What’s
different about this survey compared to past research initiatives?
How were the samples
selected?
Why is there a
Special Indigenous Sample?
Why
are there two reports related to the release of the National School English Literacy
Survey results?
How
do the results of the Survey compare with other research ?
How
will the Government address the needs of students with problems?
Will
this involve the provision of additional resources by the Commonwealth?
Does
the Survey provide information on State and Territory performance?
Is
information on government v non-government performance?
What
data about student background was collected?
Why
are there such a large number of samples of students' work?
Question:
Why was the Survey conducted?
Answer:
- This was the first national survey of school literacy for sixteen years.
- While all States and Territories assess literacy in the primary years, there is no
reliable national data on the attainment of English literacy by Australian school
students. The Survey was conducted to gain a reliable national picture of the English
literacy performance of Australian school students in years 3 and 5.
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Question:
What
did the National School English Literacy Survey set out to do?
Answer:
- The Survey set out to obtain reliable national data regarding literacy levels among
Australian school students at Years 3 and 5.
- The Survey set out to obtain a picture of student achievement in all aspects of
literacy, ie Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Viewing.
- The focus of the Survey was on literacy in English. Many Australians are literate in
languages other than English, but this survey was not directed towards gathering data on
literacy in other languages.
- The Survey was based on a broad definition of literacy.
- Literacy was seen not just as a set of basic skills, but as the foundational skills
young people need to make progress at school and to participate fully in Australian
society.
- Literacy was also seen to include an awareness and critical understanding of how
language is used, and of the important role that context plays in determining the meaning
of communication.
- The English curriculum profile was used as a framework for literacy achievement for the
Survey because of its focus on the progression of learning, because it reflects current
definitions of literacy involving the integration of speaking, listening and viewing with
reading and writing, and because of its incorporation into system-level curriculum
documents.
- The Australian Council for Educational Research aligned the assessment tasks with the
framework of the English curriculum profile, addressing its strands and outcomes.
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Question:
How much did the Survey cost?
Answer:
- The Commonwealth Government fully funded all aspects of the Survey.
- The Survey cost the Commonwealth approximately $2.7 million.
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Question:
Who managed the Survey?
Answer:
- The project was developed collaboratively by a Management Committee comprising
representatives from State and Territory education authorities, peak non-government
education
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Question:
Who undertook the Survey?
Answer:
- The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) undertook the Survey, analysed
the results and prepared the report of research findings under the direction of the Survey
Management Committee.
- All State and Territory governments and peak non-government school authorities supported
the participation of their teachers and schools in the Survey.
- The assessment methodology for the Survey had the support of government and
non-government education authorities, professional literacy associations, teacher unions,
parents and the business sector.
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Question:
What’s
different about this survey compared to past research initiatives?
Answer:
- The difference between this survey and previous research initiatives is the innovative
nature of the methodology. The detailed methodology for the Survey was developed
collaboratively over an eighteen month period, with the support of government and
non-government education authorities, professional literacy associations, teacher unions,
parents and the business sector. The survey methodology recognises that literacy
acquisition is a complex process because of the interplay of individual learning with a
myriad of factors arising from home and school culture.
- The assessment methodology for the Survey was unique in that it linked the richness and
validity of classroom assessment practices, by focussing on teacher judgment, into the
framework of a reliable national data collection process.
- The National School English Literacy Survey was not based on a standardised test. The
assessment resource materials were based on ACER’s original concept for the DART
(Developmental Assessment Resource for Teachers) materials for the upper primary years.
The Survey involved:
- structured professional development for participating teachers;
- assessment of all aspects of literacy, with assessment tasks aligned to the
national curriculum profile in English;
- assessment tasks that were conducted in the classroom over a six week period;
- advice for teachers and central reliability checks by External Assessors; and
- the correlation of literacy performance data with data collected from school principals,
teachers and students on school and home variables.
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Question:
How were the samples selected?
Answer:
- Two separate samples of students were established to collect data for the Survey: the
Main Sample and the Special Indigenous Sample.
Main Sample
- Over 8,200 students in total drawn from each of years 3 and 5 participated in the Main
Sample of the Survey.
- The Main Sample was a representative sample of all Australian students and provides a
reliable picture of the literacy achievements of all Australian students and of the larger
subgroups in the population.
Special Indigenous Sample
- The Special Indigenous Sample was not a nationally representative sample of all
Indigenous students, but only of Indigenous students in schools reporting at least five
Indigenous students in each of years 3 and 5.
- Approximately 350 students from each of years 3 and 5 participated in the Special
Indigenous Sample, a significant proportion of whom live in rural and remote parts of the
country.
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Question:
Why is there a Special
Indigenous Sample?
Answer:
- As there were not sufficient numbers of Indigenous students in the Main Sample to enable
reliable conclusions to be drawn about the achievements of Indigenous students as a
national subgroup, the Survey Management Committee, after discussions with Aboriginal
Consultative Groups in all States and Territories, decided to set up a special sample of
Indigenous students.
- It is not statistically valid to compare the performances of all Indigenous students
with the performances of all Year 3 and Year 5 students on the basis of the Special
Indigenous Sample and the Main Sample. For this reason, the achievement data for the
Special Indigenous Sample and the Main Sample are reported separately in the Report.
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Question:
Why
are there two reports related to the release of the National School English Literacy
Survey results?
Answer:
There are two reports related to the release of the results of the National School
English Literacy Survey:
- Mapping Literacy Achievement: Results of the 1996 National School English Literacy
Survey; and
- Literacy Standards in Australia.
Each report has a specific purpose.
The first report, Mapping Literacy Achievement: Results of the 1996 National School
English Literacy Survey, shows student achievement in the key aspects of literacy;
namely, Reading, Writing (including Spelling), Speaking, Listening and Viewing.
The Survey Management Committee agreed that the relationship between the draft
benchmarks and the Survey results should be analysed. The results of this analysis are
presented in an Appendix to the Survey report. The Committee decided to report an
indicative range of student achievement in which the draft benchmarks for reading and
writing may be expected to lie, along with the achievement of students in relation to that
range.
The Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training asked the Australian
Council for Educational Research to prepare the second report, Literacy Standards in
Australia to inform the benchmarks process and to provide the wider Australian
community with information about the performance standards in reading and writing of
Australian school children.
Literacy Standards in Australia shows the minimum standard of reading and
writing expected of students in Year 3 and Year 5 and reports the results of the National
School English Survey in relation to these expectations.
Literacy Standards in Australia states the percentage of students that met the
benchmark level and the percentage of students that did not meet the benchmark level.
The provision of clear information about educational outcomes is central to building
parental and community support for schools. Providing parents with information about
literacy outcomes for their primary-aged children will strengthen the capacity of parents
to support the teaching at their child’s school.
The information which links the draft literacy benchmarks to the Survey results will
help schools to know that they are meeting community expectations and will encourage
community recognition of the role of the teaching profession.
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Question:
How
do the results of the Survey compare with other research on the literacy performance of
young Australians?
Answer:
- Survey findings show that while the majority of children in years 3 and 5 are performing
as expected in reading and writing, some children are achieving well above expectations,
and a significant proportion (around 30%) are failing to meet a minimum acceptable
standard in literacy.
- This result confirms the outcomes of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth
released late last year. Comparison of test results for a representative sample of
14-year-olds over the period 1975 to 1995, revealed that around three in ten of
Australia’s youth have consistently not achieved mastery in basic reading
comprehension.
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Question:
How
does the Government plan to address the needs of those students identified by the Survey
as not making sufficient progress in literacy?
Answer:
- The Commonwealth is working with States and Territories to address this issue.
- At the March 1997 meeting of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training
and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers of Education
agreed to a national literacy and numeracy goal: That every child leaving primary
school should be numerate, and be able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level.
- Ministers also agreed on a sub-goal: That every child commencing school from 1998
will achieve a minimum acceptable literacy and numeracy standard within four years.
- The literacy and numeracy goals will be achieved through a National Plan which calls for
a coordinated approach by all governments to improving literacy and numeracy standards.
The Plan focuses on the crucial early years of school. (Refer to separate briefing
material on the National Plan for further detail.)
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Question:
Will
this involve the provision of additional resources by the Commonwealth?
Answer:
- The Government considers that the acquisition of literacy skills by all children should
be the core business of schools. The Commonwealth already makes a significant financial
contribution to schools of more than $3 billion a year and specifically $153 million a
year through the Literacy Programme.
- The Government expects that schools and education authorities will allocate priorities
and set in place strategies to ensure every child develops sound literacy skills.
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Question:
Does
Mapping Literacy Achievement: Results of the 1996 National School English Literacy
Survey provide information on individual State and Territory performance?
Answer:
- Because of the size of the sample it was not possible to make reliable comparisons
between State and Territory education systems and government and non-government school
sectors. Education Ministers have agreed that in the event of any future surveys the
sample size will be large enough to enable State and Territory comparisons.
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Question:
Does
the report Mapping Literacy Achievement: Results of the 1996 National School English
Literacy Survey provide information on government versus non-government school sector
performance?
Answer:
No
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Question:
What data about student
background was collected?
Answer:
- The Survey collected details of the students’ personal characteristics, learning
and home background; and
- information about the students’ attitudes to and experiences of reading, writing,
viewing, speaking and listening at school and at home.
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Question:
There
seems to be a large number of samples of students' work in the main findings section of Mapping
Literacy Achievement: Results of the 1996 National School English Literacy Survey. Why
is this so?
Answer:
- The samples of students' work illustrate achievement at the various levels of the
English profile, and across the five strands of writing, reading, viewing, speaking and
listening.
- It was agreed that actual samples of students' work would provide the clearest possible
picture of achievement for teachers and parents.
- The work samples are an important component of the Survey report, and are likely to be
widely used in discussions amongst teachers, and between teachers and parents.
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