One in five Victorian Year 10 students will be expected to have “excellent” critical and creative thinking skills by 2025.
The Herald Sun reported the benchmark is a 25 per cent increase on last year, and is part of a push to teach children hi-tech skills, including robotics, precision manufacturing and biotechnology.
Education Minister James Merlino told the publication students needed to cope in a “changing, global economy”.
“Many of the jobs our kids will have in the future do not even exist right now,” he said.
“Setting these ambitious targets in areas like science, maths, literacy, critical and creative thinking will give our kids the skills they need for the jobs of the future.”
An online test will be launched in all high schools this year to test Year 10 students on reasoning and metacognition through analysing hypothetical situations.
The Herald Sun reported twenty five per cent more Year 9 students will be expected to achieve “the highest level of achievement” in maths.
In science, the number of 15-year-olds reaching top marks will need to move from 10.4 per cent to 14.6 per cent.
Wheelers Hill Secondary College principal Aaron Smith told the Herald Sun schools needed to be “real and relevant” to teach 21st century skills.
The school offers coding classes, which the Victorian Government announced this week would be pushed under its new Digital Technologies curriculum.
“You can never get away from teaching the important skills of literacy and numeracy,” Mr Smith said.
“But we’ve got to get the balance.
“We need to ready out students for the future to get them ready for employment opportunities.”