Good evening, and welcome to Evening News. In a nation where one in three children battles to read proficiently, the stakes couldn't be higher: disengagement, behavioral issues, and a lifetime of barriers. Leading the charge is Jordana Hunter, Education Program Director at the Grattan Institute, whose data-driven pleas for reform are shaking up classrooms. But as her blueprint gains traction, voices from the frontlines – like veteran educator Luqman Michel question if it's addressing the real flaws in how we teach. Tonight, we unpack the crisis, from stark NAPLAN gaps to a bold "Reading Guarantee," weaving in key insights from blogs, reports, and a tweet that's gone viral in edutwitter circles. Our story starts with a preventable national shame.
Part 1: The Preventable Tragedy – Gaps That Won't Close
Sydney, February 2024: Education HQ columnist Sarah Duggan ignited a firestorm with her call for a 10-year "Reading Guarantee" to slash Australia's "instructional casualties" – those one-third of students left below basic reading proficiency, their futures dimmed by inadequate support.
As Grattan Institute's Amy Haywood put it starkly: “The sad thing is, that it’s a preventable tragedy because we do know what strong and effective reading instruction looks like – we just need to make sure that we’re getting it happening in every classroom…”
This isn't abstract policy-speak; it's a classroom catastrophe. Fast-forward from Duggan's plea, and the numbers haven't budged. Enter Jordana Hunter, whose Grattan Institute has been the canary in the coal mine. In a 2021 report co-authored with Owain Emslie, she exposed the chasm: By Year 9, NAPLAN data showed a five-year reading deficit – and four years in numeracy – between kids from university-educated families and those whose parents didn't finish high school.
Hunter tweeted the bombshell herself: "Learning gaps in Australia remain shockingly large. NAPLAN shows a 5-year gap in reading and a 4-year gap in numeracy by Year 9, depending on whether students' parents have university degrees or didn't finish high school.
The gaps? They've widened in spots since 2019, defying decades of tweaks.
But here's the rub, as critiqued by Luqman Michel, a Sabah-based tutor of dyslexic kids and author of Shut Down Kids: Why pin it on parental background when hundreds of students crack reading despite non-English-speaking homes?
"Another load of nonsense," Luqman fired back in his DyslexiaFriend.com post, inviting Hunter and Emslie for a chat: "Dr Jordana Hunter and Owain Emslie at the Grattan Institute are more than welcome to discuss this matter with me."
His theory? Faulty teaching of consonant sounds from day one dooms kids to functional illiteracy – not family income. The human toll amplified online. Grattan's own Paul Austin (@PaulNAustin) tweeted in February 2024: "Australia’s schools have too many ‘instructional casualties’ @Amy_L_Haywood from @GrattanInst on the damage done when a child is not properly supported to read well LINK
With 281 views and rising, it underscored Haywood's warning of disengagement spiraling into poor behavior and mental health woes – a thread Luqman has tugged for over a decade, emailing ministers since 2010 to no avail.
Luqman's frustration boils over: "The Australians think they know all they have to know about education and will not listen to any good advice."
He predicts flat illiteracy rates for the next ten years, a grim echo of Duggan's unmet guarantee. (After the break in Part 2: Hunter's six-step revolution meets Luqman's frontline fixes – and a tweet that bridged their worlds. Will dialogue decode the divide?)
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