Springvale Rise Primary School in south-east Melbourne is low on privilege but high on achievement.<\/p>\n
As NAPLAN results for schools are released today, it is being hailed a “school making a difference” by the administrators of the annual test, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).<\/p>\n
“[We have] a really culturally diverse community. A lot of our families are of a refugee-type background. Many have come from Burma, from Myanmar,” principal Debbie Cottier said.<\/p>\n
“Their journeys are wide and varied. A lot of the parents haven’t had much education themselves.”<\/p>\n
Ninety-three per cent of students come from non-English speaking backgrounds and 78 per cent are in the bottom quartiles for socio-economic advantage.<\/p>\n
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Ninety-three per cent of students from Springvale Rise come from non-English speaking backgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 (ABC News: Patrick Stone)<\/p>\n
Springvale Rise is one of about 50 schools in each state ACARA has identified as “making a difference” for above-average scores compared to students with similar demographics.<\/p>\n
Roughly two thirds of Springvale Rise students made above-average progress in reading, writing and numeracy between Years 3 and 5.<\/p>\n
Ms Cottier said the school’s focus on explicit teaching<\/a>, use of data to spot knowledge gaps and a focus on building a great culture were the keys to its success.<\/p>\n Explicit teaching involves educators sequencing lessons into clearly modelled, bite sized chunks and aims to prevent students suffering cognitive overload.<\/p>\n “We are so proud. The joy that you see from our families when they hear about the successes that we’re making is really inspiring,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ms Cottier said. Debbie Cottier is proud of her students at Springvale Rise. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)<\/p>\n That pride is written on the face of 11-year-old Dilawar, who dreams of becoming a lawyer.<\/p>\n “The school is an amazing place for me to be, and I feel very safe and happy at school,” Dilawar said.<\/p>\n “My favourite subject at school is writing because it helps me build up my vocabulary.”<\/p>\n His Year 5 classmate Jessica prefers maths but also loves the school and hopes to become a student leader next year.<\/p>\n “Something I like about our school is that there are many different cultures,” Jessica said.<\/p>\n “Everyone has a say, and they all get a voice. If I disagree with someone, I share my opinion.”<\/p>\n ‘Incredibly rewarding’<\/p>\n About 900 kilometres away on Sydney’s affluent north shore, Chatswood Primary is another school being celebrated for punching above its weight.<\/p>\n There are both striking similarities and drastic differences \u2014 93 per cent of students are also from non-English backgrounds, but most have much higher levels of socio-educational advantage.<\/p>\n Ninety-three per cent of Chatswood Public’s students also come from non-English speaking backgrounds. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n The common thread is systematic, consistent explicit teaching and the use of data to spot and reverse gaps in knowledge before kids fall behind.<\/p>\n More than 60 per cent made above-average progress in literacy and numeracy between Years 3 and 5 compared to students with similar levels of socio-educational advantage.<\/p>\n “It’s incredibly rewarding. That’s what we get into teaching for, to make a really positive impact and to test the potential of each student,” principal Cameron Jones said.<\/p>\n “Research shows if we can narrow the gap of achievement in Year 3, that makes a huge difference to what students can achieve in Year 12.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Deputy principal Rani Holstein said the school had been working for five years to ensure consistent explicit teaching practices across all classrooms.<\/p>\n “Having success criteria that makes it very clear what the students need to do so there’s no guesswork in the learning, it’s very clear to them what the lesson is about, why they’re doing it,” she said.<\/p>\n Chatswood Public has rolled explicit teaching practices out across all classrooms. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n Education analyst and former teacher Trisha Jha from the Centre for Independent Studies said the teaching approach was evidence-based and backed by science.<\/p>\n “It would be difficult to point out an example of a school that has had a quick and a sustained improvement in its student results without using explicit instruction,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ms Jha said.<\/p>\n Ms Jha said explicit instruction could turn around Australia’s overall NAPLAN results, after figures released in July again<\/a> showed one in three students were not meeting “challenging but reasonable” expectations for literacy and numeracy.<\/p>\n Trisha Jha says more schools adopting an explicit teaching approach could turn around student scores. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)<\/p>\n Student progress data and advice for parents<\/p>\n Changes to the NAPLAN test in 2023 mean this latest data allows parents to see how their children have performed across year levels for the first time in several years.<\/p>\n “It’s great to have the student progress data back,” ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel said.<\/p>\n “It means that we can look at schools in terms of the growth, the ways in which those families and schools have worked with those children over a two-year period.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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