We're failing our kids at school

VICTORIAN schools have been warned to lift their game as a new report revealed students' basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic had all dropped.

The reading skills of Australian school students fell to seventh in the world from equal second while students' maths skills have plummeted from fifth to 13th in the world.

The alarming results are revealed in the Government's Gonski Review of Funding for Schooling, released today.

It also said the gap in literacy between disadvantaged and advantaged students was equivalent to almost three years of schooling.

It's believed the report will recommend an extra $5 billion be spent on education with state schools set to take up to 75 per cent of funding for disadvantaged students.

The Government refused to answer questions about the report's findings yesterday, but announced a week-long talk fest for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Education Minister Peter Garrett.

The pair will visit schools and hold forums with parents, teachers and principals to discuss the report.

It will also hold a public forum in Canberra, which will be shown live around the country via the internet.

The report said Australian schools had to stop their rapid decline.

"Australian schooling needs to lift the performance of students at all levels of achievement, particularly the lowest performers," the report said.

"Australia must also improve its international standing by arresting the decline."

A new funding system for all students was also recommended.

"Australia lacks a logical, consistent and publicly transparent approach to funding schooling," it said.

The Government has already ruled out a "hit list" of private schools who will have their funding removed.

It also said no school would lose a dollar of funding, but refused to guarantee funding in real terms, meaning some schools could lose funding in the long term.

Last week it was revealed the average 15-year-old Australian maths student was more than two years behind their counterparts in Shanghai.

heraldsun.com.au 20 Feb 2012

There is no policy to 'educate' the children of the masses.

The real education is kept away from the state school curriculum, that is for the leader's children.

Education is no longer a right but a privileage i.e. privately funded.