Student teachers to undergo new literacy and numeracy exams

A national literacy and numeracy exam is being introduced for graduating teachers in Australia's universities.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne said that a pilot program will be introduced in August.

Student teachers' understanding of syntax, grammar, punctuation, finding errors and calculating a student's marks will be put to the test.

Mr Pyne said he wanted to ensure Australia got it right when selecting teachers.

"For too long there have been public concerns about the variability in the quality of teaching graduates and in the effectiveness of existing ­programs in preparing new teachers," he said.

"Testing key aspects of the personal literacy and numeracy skills of aspiring teachers will assist higher education providers, teacher employers and the general public to have absolute confidence in the skills of graduating teachers."