THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
MEMBER FOR SYDNEY

GRAHAM PERRETT MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
MEMBER FOR MORETON

AUSTRALIA'S READING, MATHS, AND SCIENCE RESULTS SET TO BE AMONG WORLDS WORST

Australia's results in reading, maths, and science are on track to be some of the worst in the developed world, unless serious action is taken to reverse falling school standards.

A detailed analysis of international tests shows that if results continue to drop at current levels, Australia's performance in maths will be the fifth worst in the developed world by 2030 or 32^nd out of the 36 OECD countries (down from 5^th in 2000).



In science, Australia's performance would drop to 31^st (down from 7^th in 2000).

In reading, Australia's performance would drop to 23^rd (down from 4^th in 2000).

It means Australia will have gone from one of the top performers to one of the worst.

This is a crisis.

Australian schools should be at the top of the pack, not the bottom.

After six years of talk, after six years of failing our schoolkids, the Liberals must act to fix this serious problem.

The results of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment, released earlier this week, saw Australian students record their worst results in reading, maths, and science since international testing began.

Our schoolkids are now a year or more behind in these basic subjects.

For the first time ever, Australia's performance in maths is no better than the global average.

Australia has now fallen behind the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia.

This should be a huge wake-up call for Scott Morrison and the Liberals, who've seen school test scores plummet on their watch.

Australia's falling performance is alarming.

Sadly, after more than six years in government, Scott Morrison and the Liberals are doing nothing to turn this dire situation around.

Australian schoolkids just aren't getting the basics under their belts anymore.

If our kids can't read, write, and do maths and science, then the Government has failed our kids.

Those subjects are the building blocks of a good education.

THURSDAY, 5 DECEMBER 2019