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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-05 Daily Xml
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NATIONAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY TESTS

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister explain why South Australia's NAPLAN results last year were worse than the previous year in 14 out of 20 categories, including year 5 and year 7 students performing worse in writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. Yesterday, the education minister told the house, and I quote:

I think it takes a great deal of courage for any government to acknowledge that we should aim to be the very best that we can be. This is an aspiration that this government has for our children in our community...

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Education and Child Development) (15:08): Now he is quoting Mao Tse-Tung.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: That's his brother. It's his brother who is quoting Mao Tse-Tung, yes, and let a million thoughts contend. I absolutely stand by what I said yesterday in relation—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Pisoni: Tell us about the NAPLAN results.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Unley, order!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I am very happy to answer that question—a question I have addressed in this place a number of times. Our NAPLAN results are steady. We track the same as, say, WA and Queensland and, yes, this government has very high aspirations for its students. I have asked my department to do some serious work in relation to literacy.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: So, yes, I stand by what I said. It does take a lot of courage for any government to say they aspire to be the best; that is what I aspire for our students. Of course, I want our NAPLAN results to be better. I have always said that and we have a number of strategies in place to achieve that.

Mr PISONI: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the minister answered a question that related to the explanation, not the question. The question was: why did we go back in 14 out of 20 categories in our NAPLAN scores last year?

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

Mr PISONI: Why? Why did it happen? That was the question.

The SPEAKER: Thank you; you have made your point, member for Unley. The minister can choose to answer the question as she wishes, and she has done so. Minister, do you wish to add anything further to your question?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: No.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order: do I understand that the member for Unley is contending that his explanation had nothing to do with his question?

The SPEAKER: Well, I wondered at the time, when you made the explanation. Have you finished your answer, minister?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Yes.

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