Australian students to take national literacy tests in 2008

Students in Australia next year wll take part in national literacy and numeracy testing following an agreement between the state and territory governments.
Education Minister John Della Bosca announced the agreement, saying 1.2 million students in years three, five, seven and nine will undertake the testing over three days, starting May 13, 2008. They will be tested in spelling, grammar, punctuation, writing, reading, and numeracy. Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said she welcomed the “confirmation” that the states and territories would participate in the national testing program, which is required under the current schools funding agreement. Read about the testing at The Australian.