The NSW Government will redouble its efforts to lift literacy and numeracy standards across NSW public schools to ensure students are given every opportunity to be their best.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian was at Panania Public School on Monday to unveil a new Premier’s Priority which aims to increase the number of public school students in the top two NAPLAN, or equivalent, bands for literacy and numeracy by 15 per cent by 2023.
Under the new Priority, an additional 18,700 students will improve their literacy skills and 13,500 students will boost their numeracy skills across NSW.
Ms Berejiklian said it was an ambitious target but one the NSW Government is confident will be achieved.
“We successfully achieved the 2015 Premier Priority of increasing the number of students in the top two NAPLAN bands by eight per cent by 2019 and now we have set the bar even higher,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We are unashamedly for lifting standards in our schools and unlocking the massive potential of our young people.”
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell confirmed that the Government’s Bump It Up program, which identifies schools that have the greatest potential to lift their students' performance in literacy and numeracy, will be extended to all schools across the State.
“Since introducing the 2015 Premier’s Priority, around 20,000 students achieved results in the top two NAPLAN bands for literacy and numeracy in the last year alone,” Ms Mitchell said.
“By 2023, we expect to see significant, tangible improvement in literacy and numeracy, right across the State.”
Panania Public School has participated in Bump It Up since 2016. The school now has 130 students sitting NAPLAN each year, with around 20 additional students in the top two bands of NAPLAN in 2018.
