Cape York schools get $22m for literacy

Schools in Cape York will get $22 million from the federal government for two different teaching approaches designed to boost literacy.

The grant will let Noel Pearson's organisation, Good to Great Schools Australia, expand direct and explicit instruction into remote schools.

Direct instruction groups students by ability rather than age while students under explicit instruction learn five core literacy skills through repeated demonstration and practice.

The federal government believes these approaches had been proven to make a difference for students struggling with literacy.

However, the Australian Education Union noted research on a trial of the teaching methods found it wasn't possible to separate improved attendance from the quality of instruction when looking at student results.

The money comes from funding for targeted investment in rural and remote schools included in the federal budget.