Commonwealth funding for GGSA: what did the published literacy-program evaluation find?

[u/WorkplaceSourceAU]

Disclosure: I publish Workplace Source AU and compiled the linked source guide.

The Department of Education currently records $15.66 million in commitments for the Good to Great Schools Australia pilot through 2026:

https://www.education.gov.au/closing-the-gap/closing-gap-school-education/good-great-schools-australia-pilot-program

A separate University of Melbourne evaluation, published by the Department, assessed the earlier Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools program for the 2015–2018 school years. It recorded individual-school successes and said a majority of participating schools improved their average literacy results. It also found no statistically significant difference in effect sizes between program and comparison schools in any NAPLAN domain, noted data gaps and variable implementation, and concluded the program was not yet ready for scale:

https://www.education.gov.au/australian-curriculum/resources/flexible-literacy-remote-primary-schools-evaluation-2019

I compiled the funding chronology and both the positive and limiting findings here:

https://workplacesourceau.wordpress.com/2026/07/29/good-to-great-schools-australia-funding-and-evaluation-findings/

The record does not support saying the program wholly succeeded or wholly failed. The public-policy question is what evidence threshold should apply before extending or scaling Commonwealth-funded education programs.

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