Braddon, ACT

905 Students

65 Teachers

Merici College underwent significant change when it adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Catalyst at the same time. Now, this secondary school for girls has more than 250 additional enrolments and is becoming known for supporting all students to succeed.

Evidence-based teaching and adapting to the needs of students

As of 2023, all staff at Merici had done ‘High Impact Teaching Practice (HITP)’ training – one of the key Catalyst supports provided by Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn (CECG). Staff have now incorporated what they learned into what they do in the classroom everyday. This occurs not only for English and Maths, but also ‘non-core’ subjects such as design and technology. New teachers report that these clear expectations help them adopt Merici’s high standards of teaching.

The school currently has a deep focus on ensuring classes in a given year level are teaching the same curriculum, at the same time, and aligning to the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). When teachers work together more closely and develop and use shared learning materials, students across classes get a more similar experience. In addition, teachers can spend more time adapting materials for their students’ needs when they are not starting from scratch.

“Students actually really like that because they can see…it’s been consistent with the resources and with the assessment. Students who need that extra scaffolding…they like it because it is already embedded in the [materials]…They didn’t feel like they were pointed out.“ (Classroom teacher)

Assessment and learning intervention ensures no student is left behind

Each year, half of Merici’s Year 7 students come from outside the Catholic system. This means teachers must work quickly to understand where a student is at with their learning, and what support or extension they may need.

“Especially with Year 7, we try to use [assessment data]…so we can identify them early. We eventually get NAPLAN and we do stuff in the second semester too, once we know them a little bit more, but we do start in Semester 1 with our high needs kids that we know definitely need help.“ (Teacher Leader)

Students across Years 7 to 10 participate in additional standardised tests (at a much smaller scale than NAPLAN), which enable Merici teachers to use this data to zoom in on any challenges.

For students that need it, small group support is provided for younger students, and one-on-one support for older students. Strong processes are in place for literacy, with current plans in place to ensure the same level of numeracy support, driven by a newly-appointed Numeracy Facilitator.

“We’ve got quite extensive and very successful intervention programs now up and running with staff allocated and trained in those spaces.” (School leader)

Students like the changes at their school, and results may be showing in NAPLAN

Students are responding positively to this high impact approach to teaching, and find it improves their confidence going into assessment. One example from English is shared below.

“The girls have really loved the SPOs – which is a ‘single paragraph outline’ – to help them plan their paragraphs and use their note taking skills using the abbreviations and the symbols…for their first ever essay.“ (Classroom teacher)

In addition, a positive signal is the increase in NAPLAN mean scores for Year 9 students since 2023, in both reading and numeracy. Merici’s mean scores are well above that for all Australian students, and are increasingly in line with schools serving similar student cohorts.

Merici’s 2024 Year 9 NAPLAN results

Numeracy, and supporting teachers to learn from each other, are the next focus

In 2025, the school will further strengthen its numeracy focus, including how Maths concepts are taught in subjects like Science. The school is also looking to strengthen how teachers share knowledge and skills with each other. This includes observing each other and receiving feedback, and conducting inquiries into student learning in teams through a ‘Professional Learning Communities’ approach.

Merici College is committed to continuous progress – for their students and their staff. They were up for the challenge of introducing the IB and Catalyst at the same time, because they could see the connections and want the best for their students every day.

External Analysis delivered by

To measure the outcomes and impact of the Catalyst program, CECG engaged Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) for an external analysis. Starting in January 2022, DAE evaluated Catalyst’s effectiveness on schools. Their final report includes six case studies from diverse schools in the Archdiocese, highlighting academic achievements for students and advocacy impacts for teachers, along with areas for improvement.