Senate debates

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Questions without Notice

Education

2:25 pm

Photo of Jonathon DuniamJonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education and Training, Senator Birmingham. Can the minister advise the Senate what the international mathematics and science report says about the performance of Australia's year 4 and year 8 students in the areas of maths and science?

Photo of Simon BirminghamSimon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank Senator Duniam for his question and his interest in this important subject. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study—or TIMSS, as it is known—is an international sample assessment of year 4 and year 8 student achievement in maths and science released every four years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Attainment.

Unfortunately, since 2011, Australia has fallen 10 places for year 4 mathematics performance, five places for year 8 mathematics performance and five places for year 8 science. Australia has fallen in place rankings and unfortunately we have also seen poorer performances by our students in advanced levels. Further, between one-quarter and one-third of Australian students did not achieve the national proficient standard in maths and science. These are deeply disappointing results. We have been overtaken in some areas by countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic that were on par with us in 2011. Kazakhstan, which has a GDP per capita of just AU$14,000 compared to our GDP per capita of more than $73,000 and which was significantly behind us in maths and science in 2011 has now overtaken us.

As many educational researchers, experts and commentators have noted, these results coming on top of poor NAPLAN performances and poor performances in other international benchmarks are a wake-up call to Australia. They demonstrate that, despite decades of growing investment in our schools and despite record levels of funding, at present we are not getting the outcomes that we should expect and want from our school system. It is essential that we better direct our resources and focus not just on how much money there is but on how we can most effectively invest it to get the best possible outcomes for Australian schoolchildren and the Australian economy. (Time expired)

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Duniam, a supplementary question?

2:27 pm

Photo of Jonathon DuniamJonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Yes, thanks, Mr President. I thank the minister for his answer. Can the minister inform the Senate on Australia's performance over the last decade and how this compares with funding over the same period?

2:28 pm

Photo of Simon BirminghamSimon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | | Hansard source

We have seen sustained growth in school funding in Australia. Since 1988, there has been a doubling in real terms. Since 2003, there has been a 50 per cent increase in funding in real terms. We have seen under this government spending between 2014 and 2017 increasing by 38 per cent. This year we will invest around $16 billion into supporting Australian schools. That will grow to more than $20 billion by 2020. That is growth above inflation, above enrolment. It is real growth at record levels.

We need to heed the advice of people such as Geoff Masters, the chief executive of the Australian Council for Educational Research, who says this 20-year slide in maths and science learning is a national challenge. The answer is not to do more of the same. The answer is not to continue the arguments of those opposite, who say, 'Simply pump more money in, but never focus on how you can get the best result and how you can best invest it.' That is what we are committed to doing. (Time expired)

Photo of Stephen ParryStephen Parry (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Duniam, a final supplementary question.

2:29 pm

Photo of Jonathon DuniamJonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Finally, can the minister update the Senate on what the government is doing to improve student outcomes?

Photo of Simon BirminghamSimon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | | Hansard source

Over the last couple of years we have taken a range of actions to improve the quality of teaching for initial teacher education and training in our universities, to ensure minimum standards of those exiting university in terms of their personal literacy and numeracy skills. We are driving the states to make sure that in future primary school teachers undertake subject specialisations so that we can have more specialist maths or science teachers or other specialist teachers in our primary schools in the future complementing the hard work of other teachers throughout the schooling system. We have applied and are working to deliver more than a dozen initiatives outlined in our Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes plan, which we released at the time of the budget earlier this year, including: further emphasis on specialisation; ensuring that students must complete, if they are going onto university, a maths or science subject; setting minimum literacy and numeracy standards for year 12 students; and raising the benchmark of ambition in our schools so that we know that will have an impact right through the years of schooling, to increase the focus on maths and science, as is essential to succeed. (Time expired)