McDowell 1

ElizabethMcDowell
ProfessorCampbell
UWRT1103
March30,2015
EducationSystems:HowistheAustralianEducationSystemdifferentcomparedto
theAmericanEducationSystem?
URL:aussieandamerica.weebly.com

Thiswebsitewascreatedbyme,ElizabethMcDowell,tomyexplorationonthetopicof
theeducationsystemsinAmericaandAustralia.Mygoalwastofindtheirmajor
differencesandanycommonalitiestheyshared.
MyfascinationoftheAustralianEducationSystemstartedwhenIhadtheopportunityto
meetAustralianEducatorsatUNCCthroughmyTeacherEducationLearning
Community.Theexperienceallowedmetospeakoneononewithfutureeducatorswho
grewupinAustraliaandwerealsoexperiencingtheeducationsysteminAmerica.We
onlygottospeakforanhoursoassoonasIleft,mymindwasrunningwithquestions;
therefore,Ihaveworkedallsemestertoresearchthetwoeducationsystems.

McDowell 2

TheBasics
Australia

Imagesource:http://www.ncee.org/programsaffiliates/centeroninternational
educationbenchmarking/topperformingcountries/australiaoverview/
Afteryearsofsellingexportgoods,thegovernmentinAustraliarealizedthe
recessionwashappeningduetotherecessionshappeningintheircountries.
Australiawasrelyingtoomuchonothers;therefore,theydecidedtoresearch
othercountriesandfoundthegreatesthelpfromAsia(NCEE4).
Theironlychanceatmaintainingtheirstandardoflivinglayinbeingabletoadd
muchmorevaluetothegoodsandservicestheyproducedthantheirneighbors.
That,inturn,meantthattheirsalvationlayininvestingheavilyineducationand
training(NCEE6).
TheAustraliansconcludedthattheyneededtobringboththeiracademic
standardsandtheirvocationalstandardsuptotheglobalbenchmarksasrapidlyas
possible(NCEE6).

McDowell 3
In2008,AustraliabegandevelopingacomprehensiveNationalAssessment
Programme(NAP)andanationalcurriculum;thenationalassessmentswere
introducedin2009,andthenationalcurriculumwasadoptedin2011.NAPis
centeredaroundliteracyandnumeracytests(collectivelyknownasNAPLAN)
administeredyearlytostudentsingrades3,5,7and9;additionalnationalsample
assessmentsinscience,civicsandcitizenshipandInformationand
CommunicationsTechnology(ICT)literacyareadministeredeverythreeyears
(NCEE6).
AsshowninthemodelAustraliasEducationSystemiscompulsorytotheageof
15.ThenthestudentscanearnaHighSchoolCertificatethenacollegedegreeor
aJuniorHighCertificatetobegintradework.Throughmyinitialresearchwith
theAustraliansinmyTeacherEducationLearningCommunity,Ifoundthistobe
fascinating.Accordingtothefutureeducators,youarerequiredtofollowoneof
thesepathsandallowittohelpyourfuture.

UnitedStates

McDowell 4
Imagecreatedfromthisinformationsource:
http://www.educationnews.org/educationpolicyandpolitics/americanpublic
educationanoriginstory/

TheeducationsystemintheUnitedStatesallbeganwiththecolonistrealizing
theirchildrenneedingmoreknowledgethanwhatcouldbeprovidedbythehome;

therefore,themenwenttoschooltolearn.(EducationNews2).
AnotherinnovationintroducedMannintroducedin1837wasthestandardization
ofpublicschoolcurricula.Theoretically,thisensuredthatchildrencouldexpect
thesamehighqualityeducationfromanyschool,districtwide(EducationNews

4).
Bytheyear1918,attendancetoelementaryschoolwasarequirementbythelaw
orcompulsory.Aseducationbecameessentialtosustaininglife,thecommunities
wereworkingtogethertomakehighschoolarequiredplaceforallchildren

(EducationNews7).
Thesameyear[1965],theElementaryandSecondaryEducationActwaspassed;
priortoitsenactment,mostschooldistrictswereindependentlyoperatedand
financedbylocalgovernmentsandinitiatives.Withthepassageoftheact,as
federalmonieswerefunneledtolocalschooldistricts,localfundinglost

importance(EducationNews15).
Today,Americaisworkingtowardsaneducationsystemthatallowsallstudents
toprosperequallyafterleavingthesegregatedandinequalitybehind.Morethan
ever,theuseoftechnologyisboomingandeveryoneisstrivingtomeetthe

studentsneeds.Thecontinuingeffortsoftodayseducatorswillensurethat
Americanscontinuetoprosperformanyyearstocome(EducationNews20).

McDowell 5

Toputanotherway,Americabeganasacountryworkingtowardseducatingthe
menofthefamilyandhasworkedtowardseducatingallstudentsatleasttothe
ageof16.AsyoucanseeintheimageIcreated,thestudentsinAmericaarent
requiredtofinishapubliceducationfundedbythegovernment.Theyareallowed
todropoutanddoanythingtheywouldlikewiththeirfuture.
THEEXPLORATION

COMPARINGTOUNITEDSTATES
PISATESTING:
"Australiahasconsistentlybeenatopperformerininternationalassessments.The
2009PISAresultsrevealthatAustralianstudentsrankninthinafieldof75(34OECD
membercountriesand41partnercountriesandeconomies),andfaroutpaceboththe
OECDaverageandtheUnitedStates"(NCEE8).

"TheProgramforInternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)isaninternational
assessmentthatmeasures15yearoldstudents'reading,mathematics,andscienceliteracy
everythreeyearsandassesinmorethan70countries"(IES1).

TheOECD,thecreatorsofthePISATest,releasedabookcalledAgainsttheOdds.
Theseyoungpeopleshowthatitispossiblefordisadvantagedstudentstoexcelin
PISA.(OECD1).Inotherwords,theOECDbelievesitispossibletoclosethegap
betweentheleastandmostadvantagedstudents.Evenifthestudentcomesfromanon
wealthyorintelligentbackgroundtheyarestillgiventheopportunitytosucceedwhile
takingthePISA.

McDowell 6

OECD,thecreatorsofthePISAtestpostedahelpfulvideotoexplainthePISA
testandtheusefulnessoftheresults.Ataround4:44minutestheexplanationturns
intopracticeproblemsifthatinterestsyou.

Theyfoundthatgirlsdosomuchbetteratreadingthenboysthatitsalmostlikethey
completedanextrayearofschool.
Boysdobetteratmathematics

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1I9tuScLUA

McDowell 7

SCORES:
UNITEDSTATES

McDowell 8

AUSTRALIA

McDowell 9

ALLIMAGESFROM:ncee.org
GLOBALREPORT:

McDowell 10

AccordingtoPearson,aneducationfirmthatworkstoprovideresourcesand
materialstothestudentsinAmerica,theUnitedStatesisfallingshortinthe
educationsystemscomparedtotherestoftheworld.Finlandisranked1st,with
Australiain13thandtheUnitedStatescominginat17thintheworld(Huffington
Post10).Althoughthesenumberrankingsarentfarfromeachotherthe

educationsysteminAustraliaisprovingtobebetterinAmerica.
INCONCULSION:
ThedatafromthePISAtestingandtheglobalreportdonebyPearsonshowthe
differenceinthetwosystemsglobalrankings.Sothequestionis,whyisAustralia
preformingbetterandwhatcanAmericadotoworkonfixingtheirsystem?Does
thehigherrankinginAustraliahaveanythingtodowiththeirsystemstructure?
EssentiallyIamexploringthetwoeducationsystemsandthereasonsbehindthe
slightlybetterrankinginAustralia.

McDowell 11
Curriculum
AUSTRALIA:
NCEEconductedaninterviewwithBarryMcGraw,theChairoftheAustralian
Curriculum,AssessmentandReportingAuthority(ACARA)tofindinformationabout
thecurriculuminAustralia.NAPLANorNationalAssessmentProgramLiteracyand
Numeracybeganin2008andisadoptedbyallofthestatesinAustralia.Thenational
literacyandnumeracyassessments,butalsothesamplebasedassessmentsalready
underwayonathreeyearlycycleforscience,civicsandcitizenshipandICTliteracy.A
resultfromthecreationofstandardsistheMySchoolwebsiteandshowsthenational
curriculumforEnglish,Math,Science,andHistory(Tucker8).
TheNationalEducationAgreement(NEA)isanagreementbetweenthecommonwealth
ofAustraliaandthestatesandterritoriesofAustralia.Thedesiredoutcomesareshown
below:

Allchildrenareengagedin,andbenefitingfrom,schooling

Youngpeoplearemeetingbasicliteracyandnumeracystandards,andoverall
levelsofliteracyandnumeracyachievementareimproving

Australianstudentsexcelbyinternationalstandards

Schoolingpromotessocialinclusionandreducestheeducationdisadvantageof
children,especiallyIndigenouschildren

McDowell 12

Youngpeoplemakeasuccessfultransitionfromschooltoworkandfurther
study(ACARA2).

AMERICA:
TheNationalGovernorsAssociationCenterforBestPractices(NGA)andtheCouncilof
ChiefStateSchoolOfficers(CCSSO),createdCommonCorefortheeducationsystemin
America.Thegoalwastoprovideteachers,parents,andstudentsthenecessary
expectationsneededtosucceedincollege,incareer,oranylifeafterhighschool.
Unlikepreviousstatestandards,whichvariedwidelyfromstatetostate,theCommon
Coreenablescollaborationamongstatesonarangeoftoolsandpolicies,includingthe:
developmentoftextbooks,digitalmedia,andotherteachingmaterials,thedevelopment
ofassessmentsystemsandthedevelopmentofasupportsystemtohelpalleducators
teachthestudentsthenewstandards.Ofthefiftystates,fortythreehaveadoptedthese
standards(CommonCore3).Inotherwords,theUnitedStatesworkedtocreateCommon
Coretohavenationalstandardsratherthenthestandardscreatedbyeachstate.Overall,
thegoalisprovidealistofrequiredinformationthateverystudentshouldlearnattheend
ofeachgradelevelineveryrequiredsubject.AccordingtoEducationWorld,the
standardsare:

Arealignedwithcollegeandworkexpectations;
Areclear,understandableandconsistent;
Includerigorouscontentandapplicationofknowledgethroughhighorderskills;
Builduponstrengthsandlessonsofcurrentstatestandards;
Areinformedbyothertopperformingcountries,sothatallstudentsareprepared

tosucceedinourglobaleconomyandsociety;and
Areevidencebased"(EducationWorld3).

McDowell 13

WorksCited
"AmericanPublicEducation:AnOriginStoryEducationNews."EducationNews.
EducationNews,16Apr.2013.Web.<http://www.educationnews.org/education
policyandpolitics/americanpubliceducationanoriginstory/>.
AustraliaMap.Digitalimage.BedandBreakfast.N.p.,2015.Web.
<http://bedandbreakfast.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/MapOfAustralia.jpg>
"CommonCore:PreparingAmerica'sStudentsforSuccess."CommonCore.Common
CoreStateStandardsInitiative,n.d.Web.<http://www.corestandards.org/>.
"HowtoGuide."ConceptDraw.N.p.,n.d.Web.<http://www.conceptdraw.com/How
ToGuide/picture/Geo>.
ImageofUnitedStates.Digitalimage.ConceptDraw.N.p.,n.d.Web.
<http://www.conceptdraw.com/HowToGuide/picture/GeoMapUSA.png>.
"NationalReportonSchoolinginAustralia2009."ACARA.N.p.,2009.Web.
<http://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national_report_on_schooling_2009/national
_policy_context/educational_goals.html>.
"NCEEAustraliaOverview."NCEE.NCEE,n.d.Web.
<http://www.ncee.org/programsaffiliates/centeroninternationaleducation
benchmarking/topperformingcountries/australiaoverview/>.
"PISAAgainsttheOdds:DisadvantagedStudentsWhoSucceedinSchool."OECD.
PISA,7Nov.2011.Web.<http://www.oecd.org/PISA/PISAproducts/PISA
againsttheoddsdisadvantagedstudentswhosucceedinschool.htm>.

McDowell 14
PISAMeasuringStudentSuccessAroundtheWorld.YouTube.EDUcontactOECD,1
Dec.2011.Web.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1I9tuScLUA>.
Tucker,Mark."HowAustraliaDevelopedaNationalCurriculumandAssessment
System."NCEE.N.p.,6Apr.2012.Web.<HowAustraliaDevelopedaNational
CurriculumandAssessmentSystem>.
"World:Curriculum:NationalandStateStandards."EducationWorld:Curriculum:
NationalandStateStandards.EducationWorld,n.d.Web.
<http://www.educationworld.com/standards/>.
Zhao,Emmeline."BestEducationInTheWorld:Finland,SouthKoreaTopCountry
Rankings,U.S.RatedAverage."TheHuffingtonPost.TheHuffingtonPost.com,27
Jan.2013.Web.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/besteducationin
thewor_n_2199795.html>.