Learning and development

Transition to primary school

Children entering school with basic skills for life and learning have higher levels of social competence and academic achievement, and are more likely to experience a successful transition to primary school.

About 1 in 4 children were developmentally vulnerable at school entry in 2009.

Differences in children’s development emerge early and are evident by the time they reach school. Children who enter school when they are not ready for this type of educational setting have lower levels of academic achievement and are at an increased risk of teenage parenthood, mental health problems, getting into trouble with the law and poorer job outcomes.

How well are children making the transition to school?

In 2009, most children were doing well, according to the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI). More than three-quarters (76%) were on track across all domains of the index. Of the 24% who were developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains, boys were more likely to be having problems than girls (30% compared with 17%).

Do rates of vulnerability vary across population groups?

The proportion of Indigenous children who were developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains was twice that of non-Indigenous children (48% and 22% respectively). This difference was repeated for children living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas compared with those living in the least disadvantaged areas (32% and 16%) and for children living in Very remote areas compared with those living in Major cities (47% and 23%).

Children from households where a language other than English is used and children from English-only backgrounds can be either proficient or not proficient in English. The vast majority of children not proficient in English are developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains (more than 90%).

Children developmentally vulnerable on one or more and two or more domains of the AEDI, by sex, 2009

Source: CCCH & Telethon Institute for Child Health Research 2009.

Attendance at primary school

Children who are regularly absent from school may miss out on critical stages of learning and development and are less likely to achieve educational and life success.

Attendance rates for Year 5 students ranged from 84% to 95% for Year 5 students across school sectors and states and territories in 2009.

School attendance helps children develop the basic building blocks for learning and educational attainment, as well as social skills such as forming friendships. Regular attendance and participation in school is a national education goal.

What is the attendance rate for Year 5 students? 

Attendance rates vary across states and territories and school sectors, and there is no national rate currently available. In 2009, the rates for Year 5 students ranged from 92% to 95%, with the exception of the Northern Territory where rates were between 84% and 89%. Attendance rates were similar for boys and girls.

What is the attendance rate for Indigenous students? 

Indigenous students generally had lower attendance rates than non-Indigenous students, but there were some exceptions. Attendance rates were similar for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the Independent school sector in Victoria and in the Catholic and Independent school sectors in Tasmania.

The Northern Territory and Western Australia had the largest differences in attendance rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Attendance rates were 14 to 30 percentage points lower for Indigenous students in the Northern Territory and 12 to 16 points lower in Western Australia.

Year 5 student attendance rates, by school sector, 2009

 

Notes
1. In 2009, 69% of Year 5 students were enrolled in government schools, 19% in Catholic schools and 12% in independent schools (ABS 2010e).
2. There is some variation in how student attendance data are currently collected between states and territories and school sectors (government, Catholic and independent). As a result, data are not nationally comparable and cannot be aggregated across year levels, states and territories, or school sectors (for further information see MCEECDYA 2010).

Source: ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) 2011. National assessment program: literacy and numeracy. Achievement in reading, persuasive writing, language conventions and numeracy. National report for 2011. Sydney: ACARA.

Literacy and numeracy

Literacy and numeracy skills enable children to engage in learning and ultimately to fully participate in society and lead productive lives.

92% of Year 5 students met the minimum standard for reading and 94% for numeracy in 2011.

Literacy means more than just being able to read and write—it is related to learning in all areas and enables people to develop knowledge and understanding. Numeracy is also central to life inside and outside school, and is important in many occupations as well as daily life.

How many students meet national standards for reading and numeracy?

In 2011, the majority of Year 5 students met the minimum standards for reading (92%) and numeracy (94%). Boys had a slightly poorer reading performance than girls, with 90% meeting the minimum standards, compared with 94% of girls.

Students whose parents had a tertiary education were more likely to achieve the minimum standards (98% each for reading and numeracy) than those whose parents had completed Year 11 or below (81% for reading and 87% for numeracy).

Students whose parents had not been in paid work in the previous 12 months were less likely to meet the minimum standards (81% for reading and 86% for numeracy) than all students (92% and 94%).

Does performance vary across population groups?

Indigenous students were less likely to achieve minimum standards for reading and numeracy (66% and 75% respectively) than non-Indigenous students (93% and 96%). This gap increased with increasing remoteness. Students with a language background other than English (LBOTE) were slightly less likely to achieve the minimum standards in reading (89%) and numeracy (93%) than their non-LBOTE counterparts (92% and 95% respectively).

Students in Remote and Very remote areas were less likely to meet the reading and numeracy minimum standards than those in Metropolitan areas— for reading, 47% and 80% of students respectively, compared with 93% of students in Metropolitan areas. For numeracy, the corresponding proportions were 60% and 87%, compared with 95%.

Year 5 students achieving at or above the national minimum standards, by Indigenous status and remoteness, 2011

 

Note: Remoteness classified according to the MCEETYA Schools Geographic Location Classification scale.

Source: ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority) 2011. National Report on Schooling in Australia 2009. Sydney: ACARA.