Analysis of recently-released NAPLAN tests reveals that the tests cover year levels well below the nominal year and that some aspects of the mathematics curriculum are underrepresented. A high level of untested curriculum content descriptions was found.

It is well accepted and understood amongst the mathematics education community that numeracy is the responsibility of all teachers, across all levels of schooling. However, the way numeracy is understood and actioned across the Early Childhood, Primary and Secondary contexts is different. This paper reports on a case study of secondary school…

This essay uses storytelling as a mode of inquiry to explore how students with languages other than English and with diasporic experiences and identities negotiate a pathway for themselves in a relentlessly Anglophone environment. I share a story that provides a small window into the everyday work of an English teacher in a large, linguistically…

Classroom-level influences on literacy skills in kindergarten through Grade 2, and on literacy and numeracy skills in Grades 3, 5, 7, and 9, were examined by comparing the similarity of twins who shared or did not share classrooms with each other. We analyzed two samples using structural equation modeling adapted for twin data. The first, Study 1,…

This paper explores the complex problem of project sustainability, focusing on the leadership of three primary school mathematics leaders. Using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), the leaders' efforts are reported, highlighting their contribution to project sustainability. The CHAT-informed research design supported the generation of…

In early 2015, the Australian Government and an associated Ministerial Group called for 'urgent national action to improve the quality of initial teacher education'. Following this call for action, the Australian Government launched a series of reforms into initial teacher education, targeting 'teacher quality' and 'classroom readiness'. The…

Most studies on the relationship between students' socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement assume that its effects are sizable and causal. A large variety of theoretical explanations have been proposed. However, the SES-achievement association may reflect, to some extent, the inter-relationships of parents' abilities, SES, children's…

The rapid decline in Australian students' performance on the "National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy" (NAPLAN) writing test is an issue of national concern. This paper presents the first investigation into patterns of achievement and progress on the NAPLAN writing test across the tested year levels (3, 5, 7 and 9) between…

Literacy interventions are a common educational response for supporting students with literacy difficulties. Australian schools historically offered such programs,, though recent studies were not found in the research literature. This paper reports on school-level and literacy intervention data for a randomly selected sample of 366 schools, from…

Purpose: Through description and consideration of 12 models developed as part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), a new model of successful school leadership is developed. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is necessarily descriptive in nature. For the first time, 12 ISSPP models are described together, and…

Australian children from regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas exhibit lower educational outcomes than their peers in metropolitan areas. The mechanisms driving the comparatively poorer educational outcomes of children in RRR areas, however, are not well understood. This paper proposes and tests two sets of factors that may be responsible for…

Since 2008, all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have been assessed in literacy and numeracy through an annual National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test. In 2015, a team of mathematics education researchers across Australia conducted a nationwide research project to identify school practices and policies that were…

Statistical terms are used in everyday language and, at times, used in non-statistical ways. It is often assumed students understand statistical terms because of their common use; however, research into their understanding of specific statistical terms is scant. This report focuses on 58 Year 3 students' responses to the basic question, "What…

The present review is in view of the endeavour of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in framing a national curriculum that is intended to equip all young Australians including those with special educational needs and disabilities. It presents some interesting findings on how teachers and parents engage with…

The purpose of this study was to compare students' results in mathematics from a large-scale standardized assessment, the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), with a set of teacher-developed, school-based assessments. A case study of an all-boys secondary school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was conducted over…