On Thursday 25 June 2009, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT referred to the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Youth Affairs for inquiry and report the extent of existing socio-economic differences in educational engagement and achievement in all ACT government and non-government schools, with particular reference to:

• educational engagement and outcomes for students of all interests and abilities, with reference to any implications of cultural background, including Indigenous and ESL students;
• engagement and achievement rates within the ACT student population including those related to national and international assessments, including:
  • average outcomes;
  • proportion of students below national and international assessment benchmarks; and
  • proportion of students achieving at the highest and lowest proficiency levels;
• qualitative assessments of educational experiences for students from different backgrounds;
• current programs and initiatives designed to address educational achievement gaps, including resources allocated and relevant experiences in other jurisdictions; and
• any other related matter.

ATESOL ACT’s submission to the Inquiry can be downloaded as a PDF document

For other submissions and the Hansard record of our representatives’ appearance before the Inquiry, go to: http://www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees/index1.asp?committee=117&inquiry=822&category=13