The latest NAPLAN results show around a third of Australian students are still falling short in literacy and numeracy – results that have barely budged since 2023.

At the same time, Australia is settling a decades-long fight over how children should be taught to read.

For years, many schools relied on outdated methods that encouraged children to work out words using context, pictures and other cues. Now, some classrooms are increasingly moving towards phonics and explicit instruction.

But the evidence for that approach has been around for decades. So why is it taking so long for classrooms to catch up?

Today, journalist Martin McKenzie-Murray on why the old methods lasted for so long, and how children should actually be taught to read.

This episode was first published in August 2024.

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Guest: Associate editor of The Saturday Paper, Martin McKenzie-Murray