Schools Education Minister Peter Garrett today welcomed a new OECD report which shows Australian students are second in the world in digital reading skills.

TheStudents On Line: Digital Technologies and Performancereport released overnight revealed that 15-year old students in Australia were equal second with New Zealand when compared with 19 other countries, with Korean students coming in first position.

“This is a terrific result which shows that Australian teenagers are on top of the new digital world we’re living in,” Mr Garrett said.

“The tests are similar to traditional literacy tests but use screens instead of pen and paper, measuring students’ ability to navigate to information, read breakout boxes and charts online, and understand and evaluate on-screen information.

“These results are based on tests performed in 2009, so the best is yet to come as the Government’s $2.4 billion Digital Education Revolution continues to benefit our schools.

“We’re investing a record amount in digital learning, with the computers in schools program on track for completion at the end of the this year, and the new National Curriculum providing strong foundational literacy and numeracy skills to help develop digital comprehension.

“Add in the rollout of the NBN and we can expect our digital literacy results to be even stronger in the next round of tests.”

The report is based on data from 19 countries which took part in a computer-based assessment of reading, an optional part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests carried out by the OECD in 2009.

“As more and more of our reading and learning is carried out online, high-level digital comprehension is a vital life skill and it’s great to see Australian kids are world-beaters in the digital arena,” Mr Garrett said.

“Importantly, the report also shows that the link between higher socio-economic background and performance was not as strong as in other countries, making Australia one of the most equitable countries for digital reading skills.

“This report is further proof that the Gillard Government’s record $64 billion investment in school education is already making a difference to the skills and post-school prospects of our students.”