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National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions


Why were the progressions developed?

Literacy and numeracy are fundamental to a student’s ability to learn at school and to engage productively in society. Improving literacy/numeracy development is a priority for many schools.

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What is the purpose of the progressions?

Successful teaching and learning to address student needs in relation to literacy and numeracy requires the teacher to have an understanding of where the student is now and where the student needs to go next in their literacy and numeracy development.

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How are the progressions structured?

There are common structural and organisational features in the progressions. Within each progression, the largest structural unit is an element. Elements are further divided into sub-elements, which are populated with indicators.

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How are the progressions and the Australian Curriculum related?

In the Australian Curriculum, learning area content describes the knowledge, understanding and skills that are to be taught in each year or band of years. Achievement standards describe the learning expected of students at each year level or band of years.

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How can the progressions be used?

The progressions do not describe what to teach; they provide a detailed map of how students become increasingly adept in particular aspects of literacy and numeracy development.

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How can the benefits of the progressions be maximised?

In a school, the benefits of the progressions are maximised where there is a whole-school, systematic approach to literacy and numeracy development that ensures:

opportunities for professional dialogue and collaboration to strengthen teacher understandings of literacy and numeracy development

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How are the progressions different from the general capabilities and how can they be used?

The National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions are different from the general capability literacy and numeracy continua in scope, structure and intended use.

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How do the progressions cater to the diversity of learners?

Consistent with ACARA’s Student diversity advice on the Australian Curriculum website, the progressions support teachers to cater for the diversity of learners by:

acknowledging students’ different rates of progress through the levels and across elements

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How were the progressions developed?

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), in partnership with NSW Department of Education, led the development of national collaborative action to develop the progressions from mid-2016 to the end of 2017.

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A guide to the progressions for parents

Literacy and numeracy development influences students’ success in most aspects of schooling. The National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions are a resource that describe how literacy and numeracy learning develops over time.

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Version history

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PDF documents

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Version 3 of National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions

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