I doubt the relevancy of Australian experience where half the pupils go to private schools and there are radical difference in education system between states. Having scanned the reading standards one has to have concern because the skills and material is so female, soft environmental, nature oriented and I don't believe it will encourage boys and maoris to read and continue reading. My mother was a reading remedial teacher with a MA(hons)at a lower socio economi Timaru secondary co ed between l971 and l984 , she almost never encountered girls who had trouble mastering reading and communication skills. With male problem readers she said you simply have to give them material they want and need to read. In the early l970s for eg she found well illustrated magazines on for eg the then current world champion Jackie Stewart, Indianapolis, NASCAR, stock cars as the sort of thing they wanted to read. She said you have to use the material they want regardless of whether its PC or not and on the phonic, look and say arguments she said you use whatever suits the individual, dogmatic approaches are idiocy.
There is nothing wrong in preparing for the best oportunity where education are concerned and taxation on cigarettes to hepl..