National Report on Schooling in Australia 2010
Overview
Welcome to the National Report on Schooling in Australia 2010, the annual national report on school education of the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC)¹, formerly the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA).
The report provides a range of information on schooling in Australia in 2010 but its main focus is to report on progress in 2010 towards the Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Commitment to Action for achieving them announced by Australian Education Ministers in the
Melbourne Declaration 2008.
A four-year plan,
released in March 2009, outlines the key strategies and initiatives that Australian governments will undertake in each of eight interrelated areas to support the achievement of the educational goals over the period 2009 to 2012. This plan is aligned with relevant work of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), in particular the
National Education Agreement (NEA). The plan provides a framework for nationally consistent, collaborative activities in education, including COAG initiatives.
Under the NEA, which came into effect in January 2009, all governments agreed to streamlined and consistent reports on national progress including the continued publication of an annual national report on the outcomes of schooling in Australia.
The report addresses the eight areas specified in the Melbourne Declaration. It describes the national policy context for school education in Australia, outlines nationally agreed policy initiatives and reports against nationally agreed key performance measures. This is the second annual National Report on Schooling in Australia to address the Educational Goals for Young Australians and the National Education Agreement.
This report has been compiled by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on behalf of SCSEEC.
¹ The (COAG) Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC) replaced MCEECDYA as the Ministerial Council with responsibility for schooling in Australia in January 2012. In this report, contemporary references to the council of Australian Education Ministers are to SCSEEC. Historical references, including for the reporting year, 2010, are to MCEECDYA, or to its predecessor until July 2009, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA).