League Tables
School league tables splashed across newspapers earlier this year, heralding an unprecedented era of education openness in this country, are on death watch.
A coalition of teachers unions, academics and public education advocates are well advanced with their mission to strangle through technological modifications any further league tables in 2011.
The tables ranking of individual schools for literacy and numeracy were the most sensational outcome the MySchool website, arguably Prime Minister’s greatest reform triumph as Education Minister.
Continue reading "MySchool wowsers trying to lock out parents" »
A funny thing happened on the way from the last week’s Principals Forum with Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.
Listening to subsequent media reports describing the National Conversation as a ‘firestorm’ and a ‘showdown’, I began to wonder whether I’d been at a different forum.
My role was as moderator. I did consider wearing a flak jacket.
Continue reading "Teachers are in the mood for seeing league tables" »
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iansand says:
acker@2:30 You seem to be having trouble distinguishing between your daughter and a school. (Hint: The school is probably made of bricks and mortar.) The league tables will not rate individual children, but schools. If you think that Sunshine and Toorak will not be compared you should get out more. … Read more »
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acker says:
@iansand The two disciplines you mention “literacy” and “numeracy” form the foundation of just about every thing taught at school’s All the Australian children in grades 3-5-7 & 9 do the same test. It offers a true snapshot on how your child is traveling compared to others at the same… Read more »
THE proposal by education guru Ken Boston to shut down failing schools, sack their principals and replace their teachers is the scholastic equivalent of what’s known as “Ben Tre” logic, from the Vietnamese town of the same name where an American major famously reasoned that “we had to destroy the village in order to save it.”
The people who will be the most outraged by Ken Boston’s radical but welcome suggestion, made at an Australian Primary Principals Association forum on Monday, are the self-styled defenders of public education in the Teachers Unions.
It’s time that someone rang the school bell on the intellectual contribution these unions make to the quality of the public education.
Continue reading "Defenders of public schools are their worst enemies" »
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lion says:
David Penberthy’s original article says that the public Teacher Unions are the only opponents of league tables. Check back and he will find that the principals associations of public, independent and catholic schools as well as other interested bodies including the NSW Liberal Party oppose what the Telegraph and similar… Read more »
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iansand says:
Here you go. http://www.isca.edu.au/html/funding_main.htm Who subsidises whom? I am aware of the source. Can anyone disprove the figures? Read more »
Much has been written about the Rudd Government’s commitment to introduce a new era of transparency into our schools. As important as bricks and mortar or computers are, the Education Revolution is about more than infrastructure.
If some are to be believed the educational sky will fall in should the Government, and more importantly parents, be given simple information about the performance of schools in their neighbourhood and around the nation.
Some on the other hand, particularly in the NSW Parliament, is nothing more than base political manoeuvring. It has certainly seen some bizarre political marriages of convenience.
Continue reading "Parents deserve more information about schools" »
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Generationmatter says:
Commission United,away food spend die water executive ever material editor artist management could home free parent move yard glass selection victim worker bottle civil grant previously care typical competition order editor someone advance represent people action despite spring enter without hill boy step surely general minute race labour comparison book… Read more »
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Steve says:
I am a service technician with an electrical back ground and 25 years experience. Julie says” In almost every other professional field you’d expect the performance of an organisation to be scrutinised.” I have never heard of an assessment for professional trades, where the “performance of an organisation is scrutinised”. … Read more »
Thank goodness Julia Gillard and Verity Firth don’t coach the Wallabies. If they did they would be looking to the minnows of world rugby – Canada or Samoa – for ideas on how to improve Australia’s rugby performance rather than a powerhouse like New Zealand.
This is exactly the approach they have taken to our education system. Their big new idea has been the introduction of League Tables, basically the crude ranking of individual schools on basic testing.
Continue reading "Why conservatives don’t support school league tables" »
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Ben says:
As a teacher in training, I can tell you that the opposition that teachers have to the publication of league tables has nothing to do with its effect on teachers. League tables can only serve to further reduce the self esteem of the most disadvantaged students and also reduce their… Read more »
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Charlie says:
For gods sake why doesn’t this website put the author’s affiliations on the same page as the article. It’s ridiculous that the casual reader has to click through to another page to discover taht the author is a sitting member of the Nationals. Read more »
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