The NAPLAN test – Australia’s National Assessment Program for Literacy And Numeracy – is just weeks away. And with it will come the usual media coverage of the arguments against its value. We can expect the usual issues to be raised: funding, student stress, teacher burnout, and comparisons between States and Territories.
Who or what is driving the desire to expect less, know less and offer less to our citizens?
In Australia, compulsory schooling evolved between the 1880s and 1900s. The nation’s first census, held in 1911, collected data on citizens aged under 5, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and over 20 in the following categories:
· Those using the English language (whether they could read and write, or read only)
· Those using a foreign language only (whether they could read and write, or read only)
· Those unable to read
Compulsory schooling didn’t initially mean all students were required to attend school, but it resulted in the national goal of universal literacy.
In the USA, the first education law was in 1642, and coincided with the introduction of periodic checks on student progress in reading, writing and comprehension. Parents were given no choice. Their children had to be educated, and they could be fined or lose custody of their children if deficiencies in English were found.
In the United Kingdom, the first grammar schools were established during the 600s, some 1270 years before education was made compulsory.
What can we learn from this very small historical sample? What did our early proponents of education aim to achieve? Perhaps by valuing education and literacy, they were expressing the value they placed on their children and their future.
Surely, that’s worth measuring.
The NAPLAN test is just weeks away. While English and Mathematics might appear to be the core of the assessment, the truth is that what’s really being measured is the stand we’re taking for our own children and their future.
‘Life’s true value is in contemplation, conversation and care.’
Copyright © 2018 Cheryl Lacey All rights reserved.
Parent, educationist and advocate of agitating change in Australian education. By raising the bar we can face any global challenges facing Australia and Australians.
Contact me at cheryl@cheryllacey.com to learn how we can work together.
