Teachers To Be Tested

Following the recent report by Professor Geoff Masters, aspiring teachers will now have to pass literacy, numeracy and science tests before they can be registered in Queensland from 2011. 

This was one of five recommendations to lift literacy and numeracy standards in Queensland schools. The decision to test teachers for literacy, science and numeracy before they can teach was the most controversial recommendation from Professor Masters' study in May.

A series of tests will be trialled in 2010 and the best testing option put in place in 2011. The first Queensland teachers to undergo the tests will be employed from 2012.

The other report recommendations accepted include advanced training for teaching science in primary schools, extra funding for this specialist training, standard science tests in Years 4, 6, 8 and 10 and a new review of school leadership.

[NIB Vol 28 No. 5 July 2009]