Education experts warn that without urgent action, a significant part of this generation could miss out on crucial foundational skills. International assessments – such as PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS – allow us to compare Australia’s performance to other countries. Unfortunately, these comparisons often show Australia lagging behind top-performing nations, fueling debate about what’s going wrong in our education system and how to fix it.
How Australia Compares Internationally
Global assessments paint a mixed picture of Australian students’ abilities in maths and English (reading). In mathematics, roughly 25–30% of Australian students fail to reach the baseline proficiency level set by international standards.
For example, the TIMSS study of Year 4 (primary) mathematics found 28% of Australian fourth-graders did not meet the National Proficient Standard (a “challenging but reasonable” level for their age).
In reading and literacy (often assessed in English), around 20% of Australian primary students fall below the expected proficiency. The PIRLS international reading study showed 80% of Australian Year 4 students achieved the intermediate benchmark, meaning 20% fell short
These figures are worse than those in top-performing countries. In Singapore – a nation renowned for its education system – over 90% of students meet these proficiency benchmarks, leaving under 10% below standard. For instance, only 8% of Singaporean students fell below baseline in maths (PISA 2022) compared to about 26% in Australia. In Year 4 reading, 90% of Singapore’s children reached the PIRLS proficiency benchmark, versus 80% in Australia.
High-performing Western nations also do better:
Finland saw 84% of its fourth-graders meet the reading benchmark (only ~16% below standard), and Canada consistently ranks near the top in reading literacy and above Australia in maths. Even the OECD averages are a concern – about one in four students across developed countries falls below baseline – but Australia’s share of low performers is still slightly higher than many peers. It’s telling that Australia now ranks around 10th in the world on recent PISA tests, and only because other countries’ performances declined during the pandemic.
In short, Australia is middling in global rankings, trailing leaders like Singapore, Finland, and Canada on core skills in primary and middle years.
Behind the Numbers: Why Is Australia Falling Behind?
Several factors contribute to Australia’s underwhelming performance in maths and English. Education is complex, but analysts often point to a combination of issues in curriculum design, teaching practices, equity, and policy. Some of the key reasons include:
- Curriculum Gaps and Content: There is growing evidence that Australia’s curriculum may be too shallow or mis-sequenced, causing students to miss out on essential knowledge. A 2023 review found “massive holes” in the national curriculum and noted that since its introduction, international scores have been falling. In science, for example, Australian students cover far fewer topics than those in other countries, suggesting similar content gaps might exist in maths and English. Put simply, if the curriculum doesn’t cover skills in enough depth or at the right time, students can end up lagging. There’s a push to refocus on essential foundations (like basic number facts, phonics in reading, etc.) to ensure Aussie kids aren’t missing critical building blocks.
- Teaching Quality and Methods: The best curriculum means little without effective teaching. Australia faces challenges in ensuring every classroom has a well-prepared, confident teacher for maths and English. Many primary teachers are not specialists in mathematics, which can affect how well content is delivered. There’s also debate over teaching methods – for instance, balancing “inquiry-based” learning with explicit instruction. In maths, experts note that fundamental skills and fluency matter for building confidence. If students don’t master basics (like multiplication tables or reading fluency), they may develop anxiety and fall behind. Improving initial teacher education and ongoing training (especially in numeracy and literacy instruction) is widely seen as crucial. In short, better support for teachers – through training in evidence-based techniques and resources – can help boost student outcomes.
- Socioeconomic Disparities: Australia has a pronounced achievement gap tied to socioeconomic status and geography. International and national tests alike show that disadvantaged students perform significantly worse on average. For example, in the PISA 2022 data, 43% of Australian 15-year-olds from the lowest socioeconomic quartile were low performers in maths, compared to just 12% of students from advantaged backgrounds. Similarly, Indigenous and remote-area students often have far lower proficiency rates than non-Indigenous and urban students. These gaps suggest that educational outcomes are still too dependent on a child’s background, which drags down national averages. Other high-performing countries tend to have smaller gaps – Finland, for instance, has one of the smallest differences between schools, indicating more equitable learning for all. Australia’s challenge is ensuring that every child, regardless of postcode or parent income, gets the support they need in literacy and numeracy.
- Government Policy and Funding: Education policy and funding decisions over the years have also played a role. Critics argue that reforms have been piecemeal – for instance, Australia has introduced national testing (NAPLAN), updated curricula, and various literacy and numeracy strategies, but without consistent follow-through. One major issue is funding: public schools, which serve the majority of disadvantaged students, remain under-resourced – about $5 billion short of agreed funding targets in recent years. This shortfall can affect class sizes, specialist support, and learning materials. Meanwhile, past reform reports (like the Gonski report) called for needs-based funding and targeted interventions, but implementation has been slow. There’s also the matter of prioritization: some experts feel basic skills weren’t given enough emphasis amid a crowded curriculum. The result has been an “all-of-system” issue that requires high-level policy attention. As one education expert put it, pointing fingers solely at teachers isn’t fair – systemic issues, including curriculum and funding policy, need addressing to reverse the decline.
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What Can Be Done? – Solutions and Recommendations
The good news is that Australia’s education challenges are well-recognized, and there are plenty of ideas to change course. To boost student outcomes in maths and English, a multi-pronged approach is needed. Here are some solutions and recommendations being discussed to help Australian students catch up and keep up:
- Strengthen and Streamline the Curriculum: Revise the national curriculum to ensure core skills are taught thoroughly and at the right stage. This might mean covering fewer topics but in greater depth. International best practices and research should guide what’s taught. For example, Australia can look to Singapore’s maths syllabus (famous for its concrete-to-abstract progression) or England’s phonics-based early reading approach. By filling content gaps and sequencing learning properly, we can give students a solid foundation. (As one report noted, when curricula were benchmarked, Australia covered far less content in key areas than top countries – a gap we can aim to close.) An updated curriculum should focus on essential literacy and numeracy skills in the early years, so no student is left with lingering weaknesses in reading or basic math facts.
- Invest in Teaching Quality and Support: Teaching is the frontline of learning. We need to equip teachers with the training, resources, and techniques to teach maths and English effectively. This starts with teacher education programs emphasizing content knowledge in maths and evidence-based literacy instruction. It also means offering ongoing professional development – for instance, training in the latest effective methods for teaching reading comprehension or mathematical problem-solving. Reducing out-of-field teaching is critical, especially in maths: wherever possible, teachers with strong maths backgrounds should be in maths classrooms, or primary teachers should receive extra support if maths isn’t their strength. Mentoring programs, sharing of best practices, and attracting high-achieving graduates to the teaching profession (especially in STEM fields) are all strategies to boost teaching quality. When teachers are confident and use proven methods, students benefit directly.
- Targeted Support for Struggling Students: Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, Australia can adopt targeted interventions to help those who are behind. This includes early identification of students falling below standards and providing timely remediation. Programs like small-group tutoring, reading recovery initiatives, or maths intervention classes can make a big difference. Some states have already introduced tutoring schemes (especially to combat COVID-19 learning losses). These efforts should continue and expand. The key is to intervene early – in the early primary years for literacy and numeracy – so that gaps don’t widen over time. By Year 4, we want fewer children in the “below standard” category. This might also involve additional support staff (like literacy coaches or numeracy specialists) working with classroom teachers. The payoff for targeted support is significant: not only do the helped students improve, but overall national performance rises as fewer kids fall through the cracks.
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- Increase Equity through Funding and Resources: Australia must address the educational inequities by directing more resources to disadvantaged schools and communities. Fully funding the needs-based model (so that all schools get the resources required to meet national standards) is a crucial step. More funding can reduce class sizes, enable schools to hire specialist teachers (e.g. an extra numeracy teacher to give one-on-one help), and invest in better materials and technology for learning. It’s also important to support Indigenous and remote education with culturally appropriate programs and by recruiting and retaining good teachers in those areas. Closing the urban-rural and rich-poor gaps will lift Australia’s averages. Countries like Canada attribute much of their success to equitable school systems – we should strive for the same. Every student should have access to a high-quality education, no matter their background. This includes affordable early childhood education, which sets the stage for literacy and numeracy readiness before primary school.
- Learn from High Performers and Research: Finally, Australia can gain insights by studying what high-performing education systems do differently. For instance, Singapore heavily emphasizes mastery of fundamentals and continuous assessment to catch issues early, while Finland invests in highly qualified teachers and a less test-driven, more student-centered approach. Canada’s provinces, such as Quebec and Alberta, have their own successful strategies (Quebec, for example, has strong math outcomes in PISA). Adopting and adapting some of these practices could help. Research suggests that top systems also focus on deeper conceptual understanding and real-world application of skills, not just rote learning. Australian curricula and teaching could incorporate these principles – making maths and English more engaging and relevant while still rigorous. Ongoing educational research (much of it done by organizations like ACER and various universities) should guide policy – from how we teach reading comprehension to the best ways to reduce maths anxiety. By being willing to innovate and learn from the best, Australia can climb back up in global rankings.
Conclusion
Australia’s current literacy and numeracy outcomes are a wake-up call. The fact that a sizeable percentage of our primary students are below international standards in maths and English is cause for concern – but it’s also an opportunity. By clearly identifying the gaps and weaknesses, we can take targeted action to improve. Comparisons with OECD peers and education powerhouses like Singapore or Finland show that improvement is achievable; Australian students are just as capable given the right support and environment.
The challenge ahead is to implement the necessary reforms – update what’s taught, empower those who teach, support those who struggle, and ensure fairness in our system. With a sustained, evidence-based effort, Australia can boost its students’ performance in maths and English. The goal is not about test scores for their own sake, but about equipping our children with the skills they need to thrive in a globalized, knowledge-based world. Strong numeracy and literacy are the ticket to better jobs, higher productivity, and more enriched lives. By investing in these foundational areas now, Australia can secure a brighter future for the next generation – one where our students don’t just meet the global standard, but help set it.
Sources: International assessment reports and news analyses on Australia’s educational performance and policies.
