Executive summary

	The focus of our audit
	Literacy and numeracy skills are essential in life and today’s global marketplace. The NSW Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan 2007 emphasises that students skilled in literacy and numeracy are more likely to stay at school, and as adults be more productive and earn higher wages. Improving students’ literacy and numeracy can have a positive effect on their confidence, their ability to deal with every day tasks, as well as their lifelong learning and health.
	During the last ten years the NSW Department of Education and Training has spent a significant amount to improve literacy and numeracy in NSW public schools. Since 1998-99 funding for literacy and numeracy programs has increased three-fold from $53 million to $154 million in 2006-07. This $154 million in funding, which consists of $50 million directed towards literacy and numeracy programs and $104 million of equity program funding, is to be maintained over the next four years.
	This audit looks at whether the Department of Education and Training’s processes to improve literacy and numeracy are likely to be successful.
	Audit opinion
	For many years, and particularly over the last decade, the Department of Education and Training has focused on building the capacity of teachers and schools to improve the levels of literacy and numeracy in NSW public schools.
	During the course of the audit we were impressed by the dedication and efforts of teachers in NSW public schools, particularly when dealing with the needs of students with learning difficulties.
	Although NSW schools perform well nationally and internationally, NSW has a high concentration of poor outcomes in some schools and some regions. Each year a group of between 5 and 15 per cent of children are at risk of not reaching the minimum level of achievement needed to progress at school. In this group, indigenous students are over represented.
	We were impressed by the Department of Education and Training’s continuing focus on improving the literacy and numeracy of NSW public school students and the extensive range of programs it has developed for this purpose.
	Despite this, over the last decade State tests have shown little change in results for numeracy and literacy. We see a number of risks to the success of the Department’s efforts.  There is no systematic assessment of what resources and support are needed. The recent increased focus and support may be too diffuse to make a significant difference, particularly for the lowest performing group. The lowest performing group are likely to have the least experienced teachers. The available support may not reach all students ‘at risk’, particularly if they are not in designated Priority schools.
	In our view, all children who are having difficulties, and who are at risk of failing, need: § a full assessment and an individual learning plan for their improvement that can move from school to school § access to resources and support based on their individual needs and disadvantage, not the school they happen to be enrolled in § a continuing record of their performance and the support they have received, so teaching can be better tailored to their individual needs and their progress can be effectively tracked regardless of their location.
	Key audit findings
Is there a need to improve literacy and numeracy?	Improving students’ literacy and numeracy can have a positive effect on their confidence, their ability to deal with every day tasks, as well as their lifelong learning and health. Since 1998-99 funding for literacy and numeracy programs has increased three-fold from $53 million to $154 million in 2006-07. This $154 million in funding is to be maintained over the next four years.
	Despite this, over the last decade State tests have shown little change in results for numeracy and literacy, both in terms of the percentages of students in the performance bands and the state average scores.
	Overall, around 85-90 per cent of NSW public school students exceed national minimum standards and NSW consistently exceeds the national average.
	However NSW, in common with other states, has a higher concentration of poorer results in some schools and some regions. In some areas one in five students are at or below the minimum level needed. Under-performance in literacy and numeracy may be associated with a range of factors such as a disability or learning difficulty, a language background other than English, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, low socio-economic background or geographical location.
	The 2006 NSW State Plan focuses on raising the attainment level of all students. It sets an overall target for improvement in literacy and numeracy and a target for the number of students who reach minimum standards.
Are the literacy and numeracy needs of each child assessed?	The literacy and numeracy needs of individual students, groups and regions in NSW public schools are diagnosed using state-wide tests administered at Years 3, 5, 7 and 8. The Department has developed the School Measurement, Assessment and Reporting Toolkit (SMART) to help schools analyse results. Although accessed by a large number of schools, use of the SMART program by schools remains voluntary.
	Schools conduct their own classroom assessments to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses against the expectations of the syllabus. Schools are required to follow a Department policy on assessment and reporting, but have flexibility in how they implement the policy requirement. The Department has issued principles and guidance and issues sample assessment tasks, templates and work samples to assist schools.
	The Department is introducing a literacy and numeracy assessment for all children as soon as they start school to determine how well they can read, write, speak and count. The first stage was introduced into 434 schools in 2008, with the remaining schools to be included over the next two years.
	State or national test results and classroom assessments allow schools to identify individual students and groups of students who are at risk of not meeting literacy and numeracy expectations, and areas of the curriculum where there are weaknesses.
	While we did not find any Departmental system that supported schools to consistently gather and record information about a student’s achievements, the Department’s planned new Student Administration and Learning Management system (SALM) should enable it to sharpen its focus on those individuals and groups of students ‘at risk’ by strengthening its capacity to: § consistently identify and support those students ‘at risk’ of not meeting literacy and numeracy expectations § individually plan, assess and effectively track student performance § identify the factors contributing to poor performance § monitor student needs at a school and then regional level to assist in guiding resource allocation § target students individually or in a group when allocating literacy and numeracy resources.
	The Department has advised us that, while SALM may be some years off, the essential components of this capacity are included in the SMART software redevelopment due for implementation in 2009.
Are there adequate programs to help those with literacy and numeracy learning needs?	Over the last decade the Department has developed an extensive range of programs to improve literacy and numeracy. Some of these are specific initiatives have the single purpose of improving literacy and numeracy achievement through the day to day work of the classroom teacher. The specific programs range from those designed to address the needs of individual students, those which provide additional funds to particular categories of schools and those which are professional learning programs to assist teachers.
	However, the delivery of these programs is dependant on schools knowing what is needed, what is available, what works best, whether funding is available, and the skills and ability of the classroom teacher.
	While an extensive range of programs exists we were unable to find a centralised source of information for schools on what additional instruction and support each student should be given to address identified learning needs, any systematic assessment of what resources and support are needed, any survey of the adequacy of resources, or individual assessments of teachers’ literacy and numeracy training needs.
	Schools are responsible for identifying and addressing the literacy needs of their students and allocating appropriate support. However, the nature and type of intervention may be influenced by the performance and funding status of the school.
	We see a need for more intensive scrutiny of how under-performing schools are using their resources, what changes are being made, and what impact they are having. We also see potential to strengthen accountability arrangements by rationalising funding programs, increasing quality assurance with some limited external review, and more clearly establishing authority and responsibility for such programs at the school and regional level.
	There is a range of general guidance information available to parents including reports on student test results, a range of online resources and a new online monthly newsletter. However, we have not seen any specific guidance for parents on what support students can expect from all public schools, what is available for their child’s specific needs, how they can support their child’s specific learning and development, and how they can be involved in helping schools.
How does the Department know which programs are successful?	We found that although the Department was aiming at increased levels of achievement for all students in line with State Plan targets, and had set explicit targets for regions, not all schools had set such targets.
	We found that some regions monitor improvements to student learning performance over time to identify those schools most in need of assistance.
	We found that the Department had conducted a number of general reviews, but it had not evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of its programs on a regular basis, using studies of individuals over time to assess their specific impact on student learning.
	We did not find information that might help provide assurance that the Department’s resources and support continue to be directed to the programs that provide the most benefit, such as: § what level of resources and support needs to be made available now in order to reach targeted literacy and numeracy achievement levels at a particular point in the future § rules governing the allocation of scarce literacy and numeracy funds, including what rules apply in what circumstances
	§ evaluations of the efficiency and effectiveness of each program on a regular basis, using studies of individuals over time to assess their specific impact on student learning
	§ a close tracking or monitoring of the factors contributing to poor performance, to assist strategic resource planning and to help assess the value of performance achievements (or otherwise) actually attained.
	Although many schools link with prior-to-school services, we found little consideration in the Department’s programs and plans of the impact of early childhood education on its efforts to improve literacy and numeracy.
	Recommendations
Are the literacy and numeracy needs of each child assessed?	We recommend that the Department sharpens its focus on those individual students at risk, including: 1) ensuring by July 2009 that schools use the School Measurement, Assessment and Reporting Toolkit (SMART) to help understand their performance (page 24) 2) expanding the literacy and numeracy assessment templates developed for the Best Start program to apply by December 2009 from kindergarten through to Year 10 (page 25) 3) developing by December 2009 a more systematic means of identifying and supporting the ‘at risk’ student, so as to facilitate early identification, assessment and targeting of resources (page 26) 4) providing by July 2009 clear guidelines to support the development of individual learning plans and requiring such plans for all ‘at risk’ students (page 27) 5) ensuring its new management systems are fully developed by December 2010 and quickly put to use to enable the effective tracking and analysis of student performance and student needs over time (page 28) 6) working with other agencies to provide earlier identification, intervention and information sharing prior-to-school on children with learning difficulties (page 29).
Are there adequate programs to help those with literacy and numeracy learning needs?	We recommend that the Department more effectively targets its limited resources and support to the needs of individuals, including: 7) systematically assessing student needs for literacy and numeracy support at the school and regional level (page 37) 8) periodically surveying the adequacy of resources and support (page 37) 9) providing by July 2009 better information for all schools on what additional instruction and support students should be given, what learning resources works best for their specific needs and what funding programs a school may be eligible for (page 38)
	10) strengthening by December 2009 the literacy and/or numeracy teaching skills of teachers working with the lowest performing students, such as by accelerating its planned introduction of expert literacy and numeracy learning leaders, particularly those with expertise in teaching ‘at risk’ students (page 40) 11) undertaking more intensive monitoring and review of how under-performing schools are using their resources, what changes are being made, and what impact they are having (page 42) 12) developing by July 2009 clear and consistent guidance on what intervention is needed, based on the results of a student’s assessment, regardless of the overall performance or funding status of the student’s school (page 42)
	13) strengthening accountability arrangements by rationalising funding programs to more closely align with student needs, increasing quality assurance, and more clearly establishing authority and responsibility for such programs at the school and regional level (page 44) 14) providing by July 2009 more specific guidance to parents on what support students can expect and how they can be involved in helping schools (page 48).
How does the Department know which programs are successful?	We recommend that the Department more rigorously reviews its programs and the performance of low achieving schools, including: 15) ensures that all regions and schools work together to set explicit targets for literacy and numeracy attainment by December 2008 (page 53) 16) rationalising and consolidating the programs that aim to improve literacy, and (separately) the programs that aim to improve numeracy (page 56) 17) establishing at the outset of such programs the expected impact over time on literacy or numeracy outcomes (page 56) 18) monitoring program performance with a suite of performance indicators and with studies of individual students over time (page 56) 19) leading a whole of government assessment by July 2009 of the value of strengthening transition to school support and programs in communities with the poorest performing public schools (page 57).
	Response from the Department of Education and Training
	I write in response to your letter of 19 September 2008 about the NSW Audit Office report, Improving Literacy and Numeracy in NSW Public Schools.
	The Department of Education and Training welcomes the opportunity, provided through the performance audit process, to reflect on the strategies and practices that are in place and to address the challenges of gaining further improvement in children’s literacy and numeracy learning.
	I am pleased that the report recognises the dedication and efforts of teachers in NSW public schools and the improvements in literacy and numeracy learning that have been achieved over the last decade.
	The recently released results of the National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy, which have New South Wales placed first, second or third in each aspect of literacy and numeracy assessed, provide evidence of the success of teachers in our schools.
	As the report found, our ongoing efforts to build teacher capacity and the extensive range of resources available to teachers mean that we are well placed to build on the success that we have experienced. In particular, all beginning teachers continue to be supported through structured programs of growth and will, from 2009, receive additional time to develop their skills.
	Despite our success we are not complacent. Literacy and numeracy skills are fundamentally important for every student in our schools – for success at school and for success beyond school. The State Plan, and our departmental plans, recognise this and set the goal of increasing levels of attainment for all students.
	The report highlights opportunities to fine tune our efforts to focus on every student, particularly those who may be at risk of failing to achieve appropriate standards of literacy and numeracy.
	The report’s recommendations focus on key areas:
	–      better targeting of individual student learning needs and tracking of progress and linking strategies and resources to individual needs –      greater accountability and monitoring of resource development and program delivery at class, school, region and State levels to assure students and parents that particular needs are being addressed –      building partnerships with prior to school settings and with parents to enhance the literacy and numeracy learning that takes place in schools.
	The Department accepts the report recommendations.
	I too would like to recognise the outstanding contribution made by our teachers in public schools, and those working to support them, to the lives and futures of young people in New South Wales.
	I would like to thank the staff of the Audit Office for their professional and collaborative approach to the conduct of this audit.
	(signed) Michael Coutts-Trotter Director-General of Education and Training Managing Director of TAFE NSW Dated:  3 October 2008