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The Impact

Since implementing Catalyst across 56 Schools, we are increasingly seeing evidence of the positive impact on teaching practice and student learning. Through professional learning provided to teachers, it is clear there is strong evidence to translate the research of the Science of Learning and Science of Reading into classroom practice

of teachers would recommend the Catalyst approach to their colleagues

4 in 5

teachers endorse the Catalyst Approach. They report saving up to 6 hours per week

of teachers noted improvements in student participation in their classes

1200+

teachers engaged in High Impact Teaching Practice, with all schools participating

of teachers and principals engaged in Online Units and Professional Learning sessions offered

500+

teachers trained in evidence-based whole class K-2 Literacy Instruction

THE EVIDENCE

The future of Teaching & Learning is bright

A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy considers a range of criteria to measure success for the Catalyst program. Explore some ways we are measuring early signs of the impact of Catalyst across the CECG archdiocese.

Deloitte Access Economics Evaluation Report

Our ability to measure outcomes, impact and showcase the benefits of the Catalyst program for our teachers and students has been critical through the implementation to ensure 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 first understand a baseline analysis of system performance pre-Catalyst and then to establish an understanding of how Catalyst had been introduced and put into practice. From this understanding, DAE have published their findings on progress made over the course of the three-year implementation period, with an early assessment of the impact of Catalyst across the system. 

Read the report

Impact of Catalyst: 2020 – 2023

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.

Reads the report

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)

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.

NAPLAN achievement data

NAPLAN achievement data highlights the positive impact of the Catalyst program across the Archdiocese. Between 2019 and 2022, CECG achieved the largest improvement in Year 3 and 5 Reading and Numeracy among large Dioceses in Australia, relative to the National Average. This progress continued in 2023, with Year 3 and 5 students exceeding national averages in both areas. CECG now ranks among the top four Dioceses for improvement in 9 of the 10 NAPLAN domains, standing out as a significant improver from the 2019 to 2023 National Average.

Testimonials

Michael Roberts
COGlearn founder

“The Catalyst program, launched by the Canberra and Goulburn Catholic Archdiocese is the most groundbreaking and courageous initiative in recent Australian educational history.

The impact of Catalyst has extended far beyond the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese. Countless educators, schools and systems have either visited and learned from Catalyst or taken inspiration from it to implement changes that have had an impact across Australia. Catalyst really has been a catalyst for positive change in education and continues to be a shining light for education in Australia.”

Deloitte Access Economics Evaluation Report 2024

“The integrity of the (Catalyst) design, the quality of the implementation and the belief of the staff – school and central – are all strong predictors of improved learning outcomes. As is the foresight to pursue ongoing evaluation for system learning and refinement, and the transparent sharing of the key outcomes as they emerge so the whole system can celebrate the success.

CECG deserves tangible impacts in headline student learning measures in coming years, as the transformation process continues and matures.”

Dr Lorraine Hammond AM
ECU Associate Professor

“Lesson design, including the introduction of Daily Review can challenge even the most altruistic of teachers, so Catalyst had the foresight to remove this barrier and reduce teacher workload by creating resources. Not surprisingly, because teachers were allowed to focus on the delivery of high impact instruction, the quality of teaching that I have observed in Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese schools has been nothing short of exemplary.”

Monique Egan
Acting Principal of St Vincent’s Primary School – Aranda

“We believe our strong (NAPLAN) performance is a result of the change in pedagogy we have undergone in recent years. We set very high expectations, and we revisit the same idea over and over again and do multiple checks for understanding with students’ understanding every lesson.”

In addition, the explicit teaching methods have not just delivered higher academic standards, but also has led to happier and more engaged students, “and when you have more focused kids, you get more learning done.”

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