Good morning, Wentyl.

When Australia’s international student report card dropped this week, I wasn’t surprised to see our students had slumped to their lowest reading and maths scores ever recorded.

Nor was I shocked to learn our classrooms are ranked some of the most disordered and chaotic in the world.

I spent five years teaching Australian students. And another two years reporting on the chaos engulfing the classroom — I know the issues.

Credit where credit's due, our ranking on the global stage stayed steady, and our students are ninth of 91 countries for digital learning skills.

But there lies the irony — across the globe results are sliding, driven largely by digital dependence and short attention spans, pushing Australian kids' ranking up (but results backwards).

Confused? So are we, and so are the policymakers tasked with combating our learning decline.

While the international examiners praised Australian students for their digital learning skills, the education minister called for a digital detox.

“The more you're online, the more your results decline,” Education Minister Jason Clare said.

Aussie teachers are dealing with these dismal results, mixed messages from policymakers, heightened bullying and a rise in bad behaviour as they simultaneously fend off attacks from right-wing politicians.

As a former teacher I sympathise, but the reality is these results are a wake-up call and teachers and students alike need do better.

Finishing in the same place in the race as you did last time because you and all the other competitors got slower isn’t something to celebrate.

The federal government pumps $33bn a year in school funding. It’s time we see a better return on that investment.

Speaking of funding, we also reported this week that hundreds of private schools educating thousands of students with disabilities are sacking learning support staff, cutting programs and receiving multi-million dollar repayment demands in a “savage” funding crackdown.

Schools in all states with a high number of neurodivergent students receiving up to $45,000 each in federal funds are reporting major impacts. The disability funding for schools for next year has already been allocated; see our exclusive lists of schools most at risk of disability funding cuts here.