Penpals in Japan

This year Jake's Year 9 Japanese class has  collaborated with Sakuraoka Junior High School in Ibaraki, Japan. Each student in  his  Year 9 Japanese class firstly sent a letter  to the school.They then decided to go digital and after much practicising,recording and editing sent this delightful video  to their friends in Japan.Well done to Jake and his Year 9 class of 2013

Video Letter to our Penpals in Japan 2013 from GJ Tobiyama on Vimeo.

PISA 2012:How Australia Measures Up

Last week   ACER (Australian Council For Educational Research) released a report called PISA 2012: How Australia Measures Up. Managed by ACER, it provides an opportunity to compare 15 year olds' literacy,numeracy and scientific skills across the globe.Half a million students took part from 65 countries and although Australia is still performing above OECD averages, our students' reading and numeracy skills have declined and scientific literacy has stayed stable.Australia performed equal 17th in Mathematics,equal 8th in Science and equal 10th in reading. This report is published every 3 years and provides a benchmark for educators worldwide.For more information access the website and  slideshow below:

PISA 2012: How Australia Measures up

OECD Literacy and Numeracy

Recently the OECD also  surveyed  24 countries which revealed  some sobering results for some countries. The recent audit tested the literacy,numeracy and problem solving skills of more than 160,000 people aged 16 - 65 across the 24 countries in the OECD.Although these  countries are all deemed wealthy, recession hit countries England,Northern Ireland,Italy and Spain  performed poorly. Australia actually outperformed the UK and The United States,coming 5th in literacy and 13th in numeracy.Not surprisingly, Japan was on top, followed closely by Finland. The UK results do  make for poor reading with 16-24 year olds' literacy scores lower than UK adults aged 16-65. Also UK graduates were only performing at the same level as Japanese school leavers. Ouch!Read this article  from the Guardian for more information about how the 24 countries fared.