Student teachers will benefit from being allowed to sit their compulsory literacy and numeracy test before they start their degree to avoid unnecessary course costs and wasted time.
Education Council agreed from 2023 initial teacher education students will have the option to sit the LANTITE test before they begin their degree.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the LANTITE test was introduced to ensure that graduate teachers had literacy and numeracy skills in the top 30 per cent of the adult population.
“Giving students the option to sit the test before they start their degree will save time and money,” Mr Tehan said.
“The sooner a student takes the test the earlier they can get support or make alternative arrangements.
“We don’t want to see students getting to the end of their degree and not being able to graduate or work as a teacher because they haven’t passed the LANTITE test.
“If someone doesn’t pass the test, this doesn’t mean they can’t enrol in a teaching degree, but it does make them aware that they need to work on their literacy and numeracy skills.”
The requirement that initial teacher education students have literacy and numeracy skills in the top 30 per cent of the adult population has been in place since 2011.
At Education Council, all education ministers reiterated their support for national standardised testing in Australia and agreed that ACARA would provide advice in 2021 to improve the NAPLAN writing assessment and national standardised assessment.
“The Morrison Government continues to support transparency and accountability for parents and students when it comes to their education,” Mr Tehan said.
“NAPLAN is the best tool we have to understand the impact of COVID-19, the long-term trends in student learning and what actions we need to take to improve.
“This is why all education ministers agreed the transition to NAPLAN online remains a high priority and is on track for completion in 2022.”
