Home >
2025 >
Term 2, Week 0 >
General News
How to solve Australia’s maths problem
A new Grattan Institute report shows that one in three Australian school students fail to achieve proficiency in maths. The report, The Maths Guarantee: How to boost students’ learning in primary schools, shows that students from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle the most with maths. But one in five students from well-off families struggle too.
When maths is taught well, children and the nation benefit. But taught poorly, students are robbed of a core life skill. Innumerate adults have worse job prospects and are more likely to struggle with routine tasks such as managing budgets and understanding health guidance. The opportunity to lift maths achievement starts in primary schools. Maths is highly cumulative, so it is imperative that primary schools teach maths well and lay down strong foundations for future success.
To read the full media release, visit the Grattan Institute website.
Image source: Grattan Institute
Overhauling the VCAA
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll announced that the Government will accept all the recommendations of the first stage of the root-and-branch review into the VCAA conducted by Dr Yehudi Blacher and will appoint a new CEO and interim board to lead the VCAA. Andrew Smith will commence as VCAA CEO from 1 June 2025. Andrew is currently the CEO of Education Services Australia and has a wealth of knowledge of the education sector, starting his career as a teacher and school leader.
Stage One of Dr Yehudi Blacher’s report into the 2024 VCE exam errors determined the root causes of the unintentional disclosure of examination content. The Government has accepted all recommendations and is acting swiftly to deliver them. In line with those recommendations, the Government has reconstituted the VCAA board and instated an interim board that will oversee the VCAA for the rest of 2025.
To read the full media release, visit the Premier of Victoria website.
Principals navigate growing challenges
The latest survey of Australia's principals from Australian Catholic University (ACU) sounds a dire warning with school leaders reporting worsening levels of anxiety and depression as they continue to face high levels of physical violence, threats and bullying. Yet despite the spike in violence and the toll on mental health and wellbeing, the survey found school leaders showed surprisingly high levels of job satisfaction, and their work commitment remained high.
The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey is compiled by ACU's Institute for Positive Psychology and Education (IPPE). IPPE co-chief investigator and leading school wellbeing expert Professor Theresa Dicke said the latest report compared the experience of school leaders who reported high levels of job satisfaction with those experiencing low levels of job satisfaction.
To read the full media release, visit the ACU website.
Image source: ACU
Trends Shaping Education 2025
Trends Shaping Education is a triennial report exploring the social, technological, economic, environmental and political forces transforming education systems worldwide. The 2025 edition explores a rich array of topics related to the key themes of global conflict and cooperation, work and progress, voices and storytelling, and bodies and minds.
This report is designed to give policy makers, researchers, educational leaders, administrators and teachers a robust, non-specialist source of international comparative trends shaping education. It raises questions about the implications of global trends for education and offers thinking tools to help education systems anticipate disruptions and think strategically about the future.
To read the full report, visit the OECD website.
Image source: OECD