The Starting Line - Expression of Interest

Over the past two years, 7,589 students in 91 Australian schools told us how confident they are in the capabilities that shape how they learn - curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, action and agility. The data shows that where students start depends heavily on context: students in advantaged communities begin, on average, more than ten points ahead in capability confidence - before a single lesson is taught.

These capabilities sit in the Australian Curriculum. Schools are asked to build them. Almost no school has data on them. The Starting Line changes that: a national benchmark of student capabilities, open to every Australian school for the first time in Term 4 2026.

Taking part is straightforward: your students complete a 7–10 minute anonymous survey in class, with no preparation, no marking and no cost. The instrument is a self-report measure of capability confidence - it assesses no individual student and produces no rankings. Results are reported at cohort level only, benchmarked against like schools nationally, giving your school evidence for planning, teaching and school improvement conversations. Your students' responses also strengthen the national picture published in The Starting Line Report.

Registering interest takes two minutes and commits your school to nothing. Full registration, including school approval, follows in September. Registrations close Friday 25 September.