This month Australian primary school students will sit the first national reading and writing test - part of the government's efforts to improve literacy in the face of statistics released two years ago by Education Minister Dr David Kemp, which showed that about one in three eight- and nine-year-olds couldn't read and write properly. Four Corners examines the evidence that has fuelled the Government's literacy crusade, a crusade that has led to workplace programs and the implementation of a compulsory literacy scheme for young people on the dole
