The Australian | 6 March 2013
Student teachers in NSW will sit mandatory literacy and numeracy tests before being allowed into classrooms, while only school leavers who score above 80 in three subjects will make it into university courses, as part are part of sweeping reforms designed to improve the quality of teachers in NSW (Great Teaching, Inspired Learning).
Announcing the reforms, NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the public, independent and Catholic sectors are working on their responses.
School leavers wanting to study education at university will need HSC band 5 results in a minimum of three subjects, one of which must be English, in what Piccoli said will be “a significant raising of the bar”.
To get a practical placement, students will be required to pass a literacy and numeracy test that proves they are in the top 30% of students across NSW. About 70% of students this year would not have met the new standard.
The government’s plan includes reducing the load for beginner teachers, improving professional development and strengthening mentoring
Piccoli conceded some of the recommendations involving supporting first year teachers would have a significant financial impact.
In three months time when we get those implementation plans there may well be costs associated with it … and it will then be a question for myself and cabinet.
From 2015, all teachers in NSW will also be required to meet national standards and undergo training every five years to meet accreditation processes.
Piccoli said he isn’t concerned about a drop in graduates because there weren’t enough full-times places to meet the current demand.
Opposition education spokeswoman Carmel Tebbutt backed lifting university entrance marks but said good teaching also relied on training and support.
Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson said that while universities agree that teacher quality needs to be improved, policies must be equitable, workable and recognise the multiple entry pathways into teacher training – and address the crucial issue of teacher remuneration.
Introducing entry requirements such as this, ignore the well-documented fact that input measures are very poor predictors of graduate success and teacher quality. They correlate more with socioeconomic background. There are many examples of students with lower entry scores going on to win awards through their studies and in industry. Assessing teacher quality ought to focus on the abilities of students as they complete their university education rather than on commencement of their study.
