One state in Australia contains a jaw dropping number of future teachers who can’t prove they have a basic understanding of literacy and numeracy.
Results from a quiz given to prospective educators before they graduate university revealed a startling amount were void of simple ‘common sense’ knowledge.
Finding itself in the lowest scoring two states in the country was the self-described ‘education state’, with one in 10 students unable to score a passing mark.
One state in Australia contains a jaw dropping number of future teachers who can’t prove they have a basic understanding of literacy and numeracy (stock photo)
Results from a quiz given to prospective educators before they graduate university revealed a startling amount were void of simple ‘common sense’ knowledge
Down the bottom end of the scale with the worst results was Victoria, beat to the bottom of the pile narrowly by the Northern Territory.
Ringing in with startling 11.4 per cent failing literacy and 10.3 per cent failing numeracy, Victoria ranked far below the national average.
Students are given three chances and must pass the test in order to graduate, with it testing them on things like punctuation, percentages and language.
One question in the quiz asks students to select which word out of four options: extensive, simple, hands-on, and clearly stated, is the closest in meaning to ‘explicit’.
Down the bottom end of the scale with the worst results was Victoria, beat to the bottom of the pile narrowly by the Northern Territory (stock photo)
Another was: ‘The weather bureau forecasts a 20 per cent chance of rain … what is the chance that it will not rain?’
The embarrassing results were described as ‘simply unacceptable’ by Victorian Opposition education spokesman Tim Smith.
Education Minister James Merlino pointed the finger at Victorian universities accepting students with tertiary exams scores as low as in the 30s solely to boost profits.
Education Minister James Merlino (pictured) pointed the finger at Victorian universities accepting students with tertiary exams scores as low as in the 30s solely to boost profits
‘This led to huge numbers of people applying to be teachers in Victoria compared to the rest of the country. It isn’t good enough and it had to change,’ Mr Merlino said.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said last year’s results were even lower than the year beforehand, but higher than when the test was first introduced in 2015.
‘Parents, schools and principals expect that a teacher in the classroom has the right subject knowledge and expertise but also the literacy and numeracy skills to best support students,’ he said.
Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham (pictured) said last year’s results were even lower than the year beforehand, but higher than when the test was first introduced in 2015