Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

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Government pushes states to adopt proposed phonics testing for Year 1 students

By education reporter Natasha Robinson
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-08/g ... st/9238628
The Federal Government faces an uphill battle in convincing the states to adopt its proposed check of whether all Year 1 students have basic reading skills.

Key points:

The NSW Teachers Federation said teachers already teach phonics in their classrooms

Phonics testing requires students to learn how letters and groups of letters sound

But some British experts are warning Australia against phonics testing

Education ministers will be briefed on the evidence supporting the proposed Year 1 phonics check today at their last meeting for the year.

Phonics is the method used to teach kids to read by learning how letters or groups of letters sound.

The phonics check is controversial among teachers, parents and peak education groups.

It is based on the phonics screening check used in the UK since 2012 and involves a five-minute exercise in which students are asked to read a series of simple words, followed by a series of nonsense words to demonstrate their understanding of sounds and letters.

NSW has indicated it supports a phonics check. South Australia is already running a trial, but Queensland is opposing the move outright.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

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The AUSPELD letter of support for the phonics check submitted to Ministers:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=944
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

Another piece, this time via The Educator, challenging the uptake of the phonics check:
Phonics test will ‘undermine professional judgment of teachers’

by Robert Ballantyne
http://www.educatoronline.com.au/news/p ... Po.twitter
The teachers union is urging state governments not to sign up to the Federal Government’s phonics test, warning it will “undermine the professional judgment” of public school teachers.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

The DDOLL network and many other organisations write to officials in support of the adoption of a phonics check in Australia - click on the link directly below for a list of names:

http://www.iferi.org/wp-content/uploads ... -Check.pdf
Letter from DDOLL to State Ministers of Education, 4 December 2017 Attachment 1, Listing of Members of DDOLL Supporting the Phonics Check

The Developmental Disorders of Language and Literacy Network group (DDOLL) is a group of reading researchers, academics, specialist reading support and literacy teachers, speech pathologists, classroom teachers and parents which was set up in 2003 through a grant from the Australian Research Council’s research grants scheme Research Networks. The aim of the DDOLL group is to disseminate information about the investigation and treatment of developmental disorders of language and literacy that uses sound scientific methodology and evidence-based research. The group includes members from Australia as well as the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States.
http://www.iferi.org/wp-content/uploads ... r-2017.pdf
Letter from DDOLL to State Ministers of Education, 4 December 2017 Attachment 2. List of Organisations Supporting the DDOLL Letter

The following organisations have indicated their support for the DDOLL letter supporting the introduction of the proposed Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, which is due to be considered at the upcoming

Australian National Organisations:

Learning Difficulties Australia (LDA)
President: Anne Castles, Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University,
and Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders (CCD) Website: https://www.ldaustralia.org/
Email: anne.castles@mq.edu.au

Speech Pathology Australia (SPA)
President: Gaenor Dixon
Website: https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/ Email: president@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

International Organisations:

The International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction (IFERI)
Website: https://www.iferi.org/
Contact person: Debbie Hepplewhite, MBE FRSA, at debbie@iferi.org

The National Right to Read Foundation (United States)
Website: http://www.nrrf.org
President: Dr. Robert W. Sweet, Jr., Nrrfone@gmail.com

Educators International (UK)
Website: http://www.educatorsinternational.org.uk/
Chief Officer and Trustee: Michael Stark, michael@educatorsinternational.org.uk

Education Council Meeting on Friday 8 December. All of the
organisations listed are directly concerned with either the support of children with reading
difficulties or the dissemination of information relating to the scientific evidence of how
children learn to read and the most effective approaches to the teaching of reading. A brief
description of each of the organisations listed is provided at the end of the listing. This listing
has been compiled by Dr Molly de Lemos, member of the DDOLL network, email contact
delemos@pacific.net.au.


Australian State SPELD Organisations

SPELD QLD
CEO: Marion McMahon, Website: http://www.speld.org.au, Email: speld@speld.org.au

SPELD NSW
CEO: Georgina Perry, Website: http://www.speldnsw.org.au, Email: enquiries@speldnsw.org.au

SPELD SA
CEO: Sandy Russo, Website: http://www.speld-sa.org.au, Email: info@speld-sa.org.au

SPELD VIC
CEO: Claire Stonier-Kipen, Website: http://www.speldvic.org.au, Email: admin@speldvic.org.au

DYSLEXIA-SPELD FOUNDATION WA INC
CEO: Mandy Nayton OAM, Website: http://www.dsf.net.au, Email: support@dsf.net.au

Other Australian Organisations:

Teaching, Technology and Resources for Learning (TTR4L) Website: http://www.dyslexiattr4l.com/
Contact person: Yvonne Lynch, ylynch@hotkey.net.au

Dyslexia Support Groups

Albury Wodonga Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Sarah Allen, sarahallen0@icloud.com

Dyslexia Info Canberra
Contact: Jen Cross, dyslexiacanberra@gmail.com

Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and LD Parent Support Group
Contact: Ann Williams, awillia732@gmail.com

Dyslexia NSW Clarence and Northern Rivers
Contact: Julie Hermansen, dyslexiaclarence@gmail.com

Dyslexia NSW Support Group
Contact: Victoria Leslie, vleslie.literacy@gmail.com

Dyslexia Queensland Support Group
Contact: Tanya Forbes, gcdyslexia@gmail.com

Dyslexia South Australia
Contact: Janice McPhail, JMcPhail@adelaidephn.com.au

Dyslexia Support Australia (DSA)
Contact: Belinda Dekker, bindybee@yahoo.com

Dyslexia Support NSW Mid North Coast
Contact: Kelly King, dyslexiamnc@gmail.com

Dyslexia Victoria Support Group
Contact: Heidi Gregory, 2behold@gmail.com

Tasmania Dyslexia Support Group (Square Pegs)
Contact: Amelia Jones, squarepegstas@gmail.com

Victoria Bayside Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Isabelle Duquennois, Isabelle.duquennois@gmail.com

Victoria Far North Melbourne Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Melanie Wells, DVSGfnm@gmail.com

Victoria Inner North East Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Bec Cambrell, rcambrell@gmail.com

Victoria Inner North West Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Kate Bertoncello, k.bertoncello@yahoo.com.au

Victoria Outer East Dyslexia Support Group
Contact: Roberta Styles-Wood, roberta@loremakers.com.au

Victoria South Gippsland Learning Differences Support Group
Contact: Kerry Harvey, sglearningdiff@hotmail.com

Western Australia (WA) Support Group
Contact: Vikki Hipkin, wadyslexia@gmail.com
It will be an unaccountable travesty if educationalists and politicians ignore these signatories' and organisations' support for a national phonics check!
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

Good to hear - in The Australian:

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/n ... c7f5352330
Literacy in schools: Push grows for Year 1 phonics tests

SAMANTHA HUTCHINSON
Victorian State Political Writer
Melbourne

The Victorian opposition would ­introduce a compulsory phonics check for Year 1 students to ­assess reading ability as part of an election package vowing to ­address stagnating literacy standards.

Tired of waiting for federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham to roll out a phonics test in primary schools nationally, the Victorian Coalition would go it alone, if elected, and implement the test for Year 1 even if the federal government and other states did not follow suit.

The five to seven-minute test is regarded as a simple and efficient way to detect reading and comprehension problems early. It ­requires the teacher to see if a childcan sound out 20 words and 20 made-up words.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the plan would lower the number of students annually leaving Victorian schools with substandard reading skills.

“Thousands of children in Victoria finish school each year unable to read at a sufficient level to gain stable employment, participate in society, and have a good quality of life,” he said.

“The Year 1 phonics check will lead to more ­effective teaching of reading in our schools through early identification and support of children who experience difficulties.”

Opposition education spokesman Tim Smith said the phonics test would ensure the early detection of children experiencing problems with reading and comprehension: “We want to be able to identify children who are falling behind as early as possible.”

Education is emerging alongside law and order as a key political battleground in the Victorian election due this year.

The Coalition last week promised to conduct a ­review of the state’s curriculum and released an education values statement calling for a greater focus on “Australian values” and ideas of civics and citizenship in schools.

The federal government is considering a plan to roll out a phonics test after an ­expert panel in September recommended it as a way to boost literacy.

Centre for Independent Studies education and literacy expert Jennifer Buckingham, who led the federal government advisory panel, is also advising the Victorian Coalition. She said a phonics test was an effective way to screen children at a timewhen ­intervention had the most effect.

Although NAPLAN testing ­assesses reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, students do not sit those tests until Year 3.

“There’s evidence to show that kids aren’t learning phonics as early as they should be, and that Year 1 is that really crucial year,’’ Ms Buckingham said. “For a lot of children, the fact that they are struggling or might have an issue might never be ­revealed until NAPLAN in Year 3, and at that stage there isn’t that much ... in the way of early intervention.”

Although states including NSW and South Australia, have shown willingness to adopt the test, Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones has rejected the idea, saying children are too young in Year 1 to be tested.

Critics of the test argue it has not delivered improvement in literacy capabilities.

The British government implemented a phonics check throughout schools in 2012. Since then, the proportion of children reaching the benchmark score has risen from 58 per cent to 81 per cent.
I'll just add that whilst Minister Kate Jones says children are too young in Year 1 to be tested, she is too critical. The Year 1 phonics check is a simple list of words - 20 real and 20 pseudo words - that children read to their teacher one to one. Children at this age should already be routinely reading words - including word banks (lists of words) within the school's phonics provision (assuming the school provides good phonics provision of course).

Further, critics of the check (in Australia and in the UK) who argue that it has not delivered improvement in literacy capabilities are not right. They are not right with regard to the scenario in England and they are not right according to the findings of a body of research.
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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Re: Aus: The battle continues fiercely regarding national adoption of a phonics check

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

More on the scene in Victoria courtesy of ABC News:


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-29/v ... -1/9367940
Victoria election: Year 1 students to face phonics check if Coalition wins poll

State political reporter Richard Willingham

Every Victorian Year 1 student would have a special phonics check by their teacher under a plan by Matthew Guy's Coalition if it wins the November state election.
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