The Impact

Our ability to measure outcomes and impact, and to showcase the benefits of the Catalyst program for our teachers and students, has been critical throughout implementation to determine program success. As such, CECG engaged Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) as an external, objective evaluator to monitor and evaluate the program during the initial implementation period.

The DAE evaluation of the approach sought to establish a baseline analysis of system performance, pre-Catalyst, and understand how Catalyst was introduced and implemented. From this baseline, DAE has published their findings on progress made over the course of the three-year implementation period, providing an early assessment of the impact of Catalyst across the system.

Read the report

Commencing in 2020, Catholic Education Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) launched Catalyst by implementing evidence-based teaching practice in every school in the Archdiocese. In less than three years, 56 schools, 1,700 teachers and over 21,000 students have engaged in the Catalyst journey in some way.

Explore our findings from the first three years of program implementation, and what’s next for Catalyst.

Read the report

In 2021, we first introduced the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 8th Edition (DIBELS) to monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills in K-2. With additional reading based assessments, we can access more reliable data to inform our baseline level of reading across year levels and inform our teaching practices to support students’ individual learning needs.

In the coming years, we will continue to use these assessment measures to track improvement in reading outcomes.

The NAPLAN achievement data underscores the positive impact of the Catalyst program across the Archdiocese. When comparing year-on-year data for 2023/24, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) identified the Top 20 Schools Making a Difference. Notably, 13 out of the 20 top schools in the ACT were Catholic Education Canberra-Goulbourn (CECG) schools.

Furthermore, 75% of CECG students are assessed as proficient readers, significantly exceeding the national average of 66% in 2024. 

To measure the outcomes and impact of the Catalyst program, CECG engaged Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) to conduct an external analysis. Commencing in January 2022, DAE took a phased approach to evaluating the effectiveness and influence of Catalyst on schools.

In their final report, DAE has produced six case studies on schools of varying demographic and socio-economic status throughout the Archdiocese. These case studies provide a comprehensive overview of the program’s achievements, using academic outcomes as a success measure for students, and belief and advocacy to assess the impact for teachers. DAE also identified areas for improvement for each school.

Read the case studies