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Literacy tests for kindergarten


By Bruce McDougall

THE state's five-year-olds will sit tests in literacy and numeracy from next year under an $82 million plan to identify children with potential learning problems.

But the assessments already have attracted controversy, with private coaching colleges trying to obtain copies of the sample questions.

The kindergarten assessments will be rolled out in more than 400 public schools in 2008 with a further 600 taking up the program in 2009 and all 1700 primary schools by 2010.

Education Minister John Della Bosca yesterday denied children would be forced to sit formal exams, describing the tests as a "teaching tool".

Mr Della Bosca attacked the behaviour of the unregulated tutoring colleges which have mushroomed all over Sydney.

"It is very disappointing . . . that private coaching colleges have expressed interest in seeking sample questions so they can hothouse pre-schoolers," he said.

"It is a teaching tool to find out each child's skills as they enter school and to tailor teaching to support individual literacy and numeracy learning needs."

By the end of kindergarten most students should be able to read all or most of a simple reading book, give a short summary of a story that includes a beginning, middle and end and be able to write a recognisable sentence. They should be able to count to 30.

Releasing details of the program at Matraville Soldiers' Settlement Public School in Sydney's east, Mr Della Bosca said the aim was to give students the best possible start.

"By sitting down with each student and assessing their early literacy and numeracy skills teachers can develop learning plans for their students.

"Parents have a vital role to play and . . the assessment will give them essential information on how to support their child's learning."

Mr Della Bosca said independent evaluations showed the literacy levels of NSW students were among the highest in the world.

"This initiative is designed to enhance those results," he said.

As well as literacy and numeracy development, Best Start will:

 PROVIDE early learning plans for students in the first years of school using the information obtained;

 ALLOW over a period of four years an extra 200 Reading Recovery teachers to give struggling students one-on-one tuition;

 INCREASE support for teachers in every primary school; and

 ENABLE parents to receive practical advice about how best to support their child's early development

Education experts want to know whether children starting school can recognise familiar print, recall details of a picture story book read to them, write their name and recognise and use sounds and letters.

In numeracy teachers want to know how well children can count, which numbers they can recognise, whether they can correctly collect a small number of objects, whether they can add and subtract and whether they can recognise simple repeating problems.

— Bruce McDougall
The Daily Telegraph
2007-12-21


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