National news
Links to items of national interest
The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science and History
At its last meeting (April 2009), the National Curriculum Board (NCB) completed the key foundational documents that will shape the Australian curriculum. A summary document along with the framing papers is found on the website of the new Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.
Read more on the ACARA website.
Note: the work of the interim NCB has now been taken over by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). New South Wales is represented on ACARA (and previously the NCB) by Mr Tom Alegounarias, the President, Board of Studies NSW. Dr Brian Croke, Executive Director, Catholic Education Commission (who is also a member of the Board of Studies NSW) represents the Catholic education sector on ACARA.
Australiasian Curriculum Assessment and Certification Authorities (ACACA)
Chief Executives of statutory bodies in Australian States and Territories and in New Zealand responsible for certificates of senior secondary education are members of ACACA. This organisation provides a way to monitor senior secondary curriculum, assessment, reporting and certification nationally.
Read more on the ACACA website.
Asian Heritage Languages Project
The Office of the Board of Studies is leading a national project on behalf of ACACA to develop curriculum for students who are Heritage speakers of Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Korean. These students have often missed out on continuing their senior secondary level language studies as their background or language experience makes them ineligible for some courses. This collaboration with the Australian Government, states and territories will increase the number of students engaged with our Asian neighbours.
- View the project timeline.
Draft Framework for Heritage Languages Consultation Report (38 Pages, 556 KB)
Framework for Heritage Languages Courses at Senior Secondary Level 2009 (32 Pages, 328 KB)
Heritage Languages Draft Courses of Study in Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Indonesian and Korean
The Heritage Languages Draft Courses of Study in Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Indonesian and Korean are now available for consultation.
The consultation period on the draft courses will be from 19 October to 30 November 2009. Please complete the online survey here.
Heritage Chinese Draft Course of Study (Mandarin) (PDF, 1.35 MB)
Heritage Japanese Draft Course of Study (PDF, 2.28 MB)
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)
The Council coordinates strategic policy at the national level, negotiation and development of national agreements on shared objectives and interests (including principles for Australian Government/State relations). The areas it covers are pre-primary education, primary and secondary education, vocational education and training, higher education, employment and linkages between employment/labour market programs and education and training, adult and community education, youth policy programs and cross-sectoral matters. It negotiates on the form of national reporting, sharing of information and collaborative use of resources.
Read more on the MCEETYA website.
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
In all Australian schools the students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are assessed using national tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The data from the NAPLAN test results gives schools and systems the ability to compare their students’ achievements against national standards and with student achievement in other states and territories over time.
Read more on the NAPLAN website.