The Andrews Labor Government has set a comprehensive set of Education State targets to drive improved student outcomes across Victorian schools over the next decade.

Minister for Education James Merlino announced new targets for educational achievement today as part of the Andrews Government’s massive $747 million Education State investment. Under our plan, every single student in every single government school will be better off.

The targets are ambitious, with a focus on measuring the whole of a student’s ability – not just on achievement in academic subjects.

The jobs of the future are in ideas and knowledge. Victoria has always relied on people and minds to create jobs. But our kids will need to be smarter, more creative and well-rounded than ever before.

We want to see more students reaching the highest levels of reading, maths and science. But we also want our schools to give students the skills they need for work and life: confidence and the capacity for critical and creative thinking.

The 2015/16 Victorian Budget was the single biggest injection of education funding in Victorian history by providing almost $4 billion in additional funds. We are building and upgrading schools and helping families with the costs of uniforms, glasses, camps, excursions and more.

We need to focus on strong school leadership, better teaching, more collaboration between teachers and schools, and resources targeted at student need – all of it backed up by expert advice and robust evidence.

This is also about breaking the link between a child’s social and economic background and how well they do at school. Our aim is to significantly reduce the number of kids who drop out of school and training every year.

The statewide targets aim to improve student outcomes across a range of learning and development areas by 2025, including:

Learning for Life

• Over the next five years for Year 5, and the next ten years for Year 9, 25 per cent more students will be reaching the highest levels of achievement in reading and mathematics
• A 33 per cent increase in the proportion of 15-year-old students reaching the highest levels of achievement in scientific literacy
• More students achieving the highest levels of achievement in critical and creative thinking
• More students excelling in the arts

Happy, healthy and resilient kids

• A 20 per cent increase in students who report high resilience
• The proportion of kids doing physical activity five times a week increased by 20 per cent

Breaking the link

• Halving the proportion of students who leave education during Years 9 to 12
• Reducing the impact of disadvantage on achievement.

Pride and confidence in our schools

• Increasing community pride and confidence in government schools.

For some of these ambitious targets, new measures of recording performance will be developed, positioning Victoria as a global leader in educational practice.

Our Budget built the foundations of the Education State, but the next step is all about helping our kids learn, giving parents confidence, and giving teachers the resources and skills they need to do what they do best.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino

“We’re making Victoria the Education State. Schools will get extra funds next year, billions will build buildings and improve young lives, and our curriculum will be amongst the most comprehensive in the world.”

“The Education State targets and new curriculum will help our kids learn the skills that industries will want, and abilities employers will expect.”

“Our targets are ambitious, because Victorian kids and their families can’t afford for us not to be.”

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