TO Cohenite,

I agree that declining PISA results (and those in other international tests) are a sign for concern (looked at here http://austcolled.com.au/article/pisa-results-2003-2012 and the reasons are complex but I would make two points relevant to the current discussion:
1. The decline is relatively recent -in 2003 we were in the second group in the world so we have to look to events over the last ten years to explain this decline
2 The effects of the new Australian Curriculum will not be apparent for over 10 years.
I would like Minister Pyne to be focusing on concrete issues, such as undoing Labor's disastrous policy of funding University places in education for students with basically mediocre entry scores, and for whom no teaching positions will be available when they finish.

And as one of Ian's 'sycophants' let me make just one point: Honest History's main beef is with the assumption implicit and often explicit in Minister Pyne's remarks on education, especially the history curriculum, that there is a single, received view of Australian history in which Western Civilisation bulks large, along with a romanticised view of our past military adventures. We (Australians) are far more diverse than this and much better than this. Also the Minister's views on the content of the history curriculum are demonstrably false as has been amply evidenced during and since the election by various Factcheckers. Search honesthistory.net.au under 'Pyne'. (Another of HH's priorities is basing opinions on evidence, something the Min seems a bit weak on.)

"1.The decline is relatively recent -in 2003 we were in the second group in the world so we have to look to events over the last ten years to explain this decline"

That would be the period of the Rudd/Gillard governments with their political offshoots at a state level.

You have not addressed the issues raised by Melanie Phillips to do with teaching methodology as well as the removal of competition and the notion of failure or more to the point, consequences in schools.

As an ostensible digression but to my mind an issue to the very point perhaps you would like to comment on the recent events surrounding the dismissal of Stephen Krix:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/student-that-punched-a-teacher-who-was-subsequently-fired-for-putting-him-in-a-headlock-feels-no-remorse/story-fni0cx12-1226804394173

Ian K,

"Minister Pyne fails another test", could you get any more childish.

Whilst you have openly admitted that the curriculum is not perfect, you have decided that a politician in making a statement to the press has failed a "test" in that he was not sufficiently specific to meet the criteria that so far remains only in your imagination.

Either you have an alarmingly over inflated opinion of yourself and your expectations, or as many feeble left whingers have done before, simply trying to set up a straw man to criticise the education minister for daring to review the school curriculum.

Under Labor, Australia's education has gone backwards, in spite of the much vaunted national curriculum and the money they have thrown at it.

The reality is that the teachers' union is probably at the heart of the problem, prohibiting the rewarding of teacher competence, and guaranteeing the advancement of incompetent teachers based on seniority alone.

In response to Shadow Minister
'Under Labor, Australia's education has gone backwards, in spite of the much vaunted national curriculum and the money they have thrown at it.'

and in response to Cohenite
To author's comment"The decline is relatively recent -in 2003 we were in the second group in the world so we have to look to events over the last ten years to explain this decline"
Cohenite responded:
That would be the period of the Rudd/Gillard governments with their political offshoots at a state level.

Just two facts:
1.Students undertake the PISA tests at Year 9, therefore results represent the culmination of 9 years of schooling. The better results in 2003 were those of students who began school under Keating.
2. Do not take fact 1 too seriously as curriculum and teaching has been, and remains primarily a matter for State Governments. Federal Ministers on both sides actually have minimal impact on what happens in schools apart from tinkering with how much federal money goes to each system.

Ian,

I was simply determining your political persuasion. It is clearly well left of centre. I notice that you did not challenge that under labor education has gone backwards.

You also did not reply to my main point which was that the real root of the problem is the teachers' union. The feeble straw man point, I assume you accept as a figment of your imagination.