The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted an online survey and a series of interviews as part of a project commissioned by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). The survey and interviews were focused on students in Years 7 to 9 who lack the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that are required to engage with a secondary curriculum, in schools where most students have these skills.

This guide is for secondary school leaders and teachers looking to better support Years 7 to 9 students struggling with foundational literacy and numeracy skills. It is primarily aimed at those able to make whole-school decisions. It makes recommendations based on the best available evidence.

This guide aims to help secondary school leaders and teachers assist students in Years 7 to 9 who have significant gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy skills. It is primarily aimed at those able to make whole‑school decisions. It is a part of a series that will provide guidance on how Australian schools can best support struggling students. The focus of this document is to share the instructional strategies most likely to have a positive impact based on the available evidence. These strategies are intended to be utilised within a multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework.

In Australia, a substantial proportion of students start secondary school with literacy and numeracy skills that are 3 or more years below those of their peers (ACARA, 2021).

This summary presents the key findings from 2 reports on better supporting students who enter secondary school with gaps in their foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The reports highlights findings from:

The draft Teacher Workforce Action Plan (TWAP) outlines important initiatives for supporting recruitment and retention of teachers, as well as actions for improving teaching quality. AERO’s submission identifies actions in TWAP that correspond with the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy and highlights the need for coordinated implementation.

The Teacher Education Expert Panel Discussion Paper highlights reforms needed to ensure pre-service teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based teaching practices from the beginning of their careers.

This guide helps teachers explain complex sentences, enabling students to produce more sophisticated writing.

This guide provides a starting point for teachers to approach teaching writing, including definitions and examples to use in the classroom.

This guide helps teachers unpack the features of compound sentences, which allow students to add interest to their writing.

A positive sense of belonging at school has fundamental benefits for children and young people and flow-on benefits for their learning and engagement with school. This guide makes recommendations based on the best available research evidence on fostering a sense of belonging in school environments.

A positive sense of belonging at school has fundamental benefits for children and young people and flow-on benefits for their learning and engagement with school. This guide makes recommendations based on the best available research evidence on fostering a sense of belonging in school environments.

This evidence review report was commissioned on behalf of all education ministers to synthesise what is known about effective remote learning by taking stock of lessons learned through the COVID-19 period, as well as those gained from earlier, pre-pandemic experiences. The review was administered by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) and conducted by the Centre for International Research on Education Systems (CIRES) at Victoria University. 

Over the past three decades Australia has developed an increasingly advanced national system of student assessments, results from which have been used to identify areas of growth, stagnation or decline in student learning. For the most part, trends in different standardised assessments have been considered in isolation. By examining literacy and numeracy results across assessments, we can better understand the performance of Australian students over time; we can pinpoint areas of national strength and weakness and improve Australia’s educational outcomes.

The paper draws on the latest National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data to discuss student participation and engagement with the tests – factors which impact the quality and usefulness of the results. It highlights important considerations for interpretation of student results and future implementation of NAPLAN.