A REVIEW of programs used to help school students improve their literacy and numeracy standards headed to Quirindi High School yesterday.
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Former NSW director general of education Ken Boston, the man in charge of the review, visited Quirindi High principal Meghanne Clarke and a number of students who are participating in the school’s QuickSmart literacy and numeracy programs to find out what they were all about.
Mr Boston was charged with the responsibility of the review of 30 programs that have been introduced to help under-performing students improve.
The review includes an investigation into Reading Recovery and Multilit.
Ms Clarke said QuickSmart, which provides programs in literacy and numeracy for students, and was developed by a professor at the University of New England in Armidale, had provided great results for a number of students at her school.
The numeracy QuickSmart program was introduced at the school four years ago and Ms Clarke said it had provided some amazing results.
“The result has been growth for the students in the program and their results have now matched with what NAPLAN suggests they should be,” she said.
The literacy QuickSmart program was introduced at the school 12 months ago and it’s now going gangbusters too.
“We implemented the programs to students in years seven, eight and nine who were getting results in the lower NAPLAN bands and needed some help getting up to speed,” Ms Clarke said.
The results are a real boost not only in terms of grades, but student confidence.
“Initially students are tested to see who needs the extra assistance, but because of some of the great results we have seen students who think they need a bit more support are referring themselves.”
Ms Clarke said students were responsible for their own learning, which appealed to them.
Quirindi High is one of the few secondary schools with both a literacy and numeracy scheme in place, hence Mr Boston’s visit.
Notes from the visit about the program and its proven outcomes at Quirindi High, will be included in Mr Boston’s report, expected to be complete at the end of the year, and if the programs are providing value for money.
“We are looking at what evidence there is in NSW, not overseas. Just because it works in Wisconsin doesn’t mean it is working in Gunnedah, or Quirindi,” he said.
He said his goal was to find out if the child’s learning had turned around in the long term or if the programs were just “a quick fix”.
