Gov confirms 90% of teaching students met literacy and numeracy standard benchmarks in 2019

In 2019, more than 20,000 teaching students took the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) for the first time.

• 91.7 per cent of students met the literacy standard.

• 90.7 per cent met the numeracy benchmark.

In 2018, 90.5 per cent of students met the literacy standard and 90 per cent met the numeracy standard.

All teaching students are required to pass the LANTITE test before they can graduate to ensure that future teachers have the literacy and numeracy skills to provide a world-class education. The test ensures graduates have literacy and numeracy skills that put them in the top 30 per cent of the Australian population.

“For our children to receive a world-class education they must have strong literacy and numeracy skills,” Education Minister Dan Tehan said.

“We need our teachers to have strong literacy and numeracy skills to impart that knowledge onto our children. Our Government introduced the LANTITE test to ensure teachers entering the profession have the skills they need to provide the best education outcomes for students.

“Our Government will introduce a free, national phonics check for Year 1 students to further help parents and teachers identify how a student’s literacy is progressing. The establishment of the National Evidence Institute, a key Gonski recommendation, will further improve the quality of teaching in Australia.”

The Federal Government is consulting through Education Council to secure state and territory government support for the release of more detailed test data.