[Greens-Media] Klein fails report card test

[John Kaye]

Klein fails report card test
 
Media release: 25 November 2008
 
The Greens have called into question the validity of New York Schools
Chancellor Joel Klein's claimed successes at improving educational
outcomes with name-and-shame league tables and punitive school
closures.
 
Commenting after Chancellor Klein's address to the National Press Club
today, Dr Kaye said: "Test results in New York Schools have not improved
and in some cases they have declined since Joel Klein became Schools
Chancellor.
 
"He has resorted to a bizarre form of bracket creep to make his
performance look better than it is. 
 
"New York City Department of Education reports reveal that the cut-off
for school report card grades was slashed by up to 6.2 percent between
2006-2007 and 2007-2008.
 
"Two thirds of the subsequent increase in grades of high schools and
all of the improvements in grades of elementary schools appear to be due
to reducing the cut-off point.
 
"By lowering the bar he has admitted that his name-and-shame prejudices
have not worked.
 
"This is the bureaucratic equivalent of fudging his own report card.
 
"The statistics do not support Education Minister Julia Gillard's
enthusiasm for the New Yorker's free market solutions.
 
"In almost one in six elementary schools rated A by Klein's report
card, over half the students failed to reach proficiency in New York
State’s reading test. 
 
"NSW is doing much better than New York without any of the punitive
gimmicks Chancellor Klein has inflicted on his schools.
 
"His ideological market-based obsession is a recipe to drive down
Australian educational standards
 
"Learning from New York would be like adopting the US model for health
care. 
 
"If Minister Gillard wants international examples, she should take a
closer look at the success of countries that fund their public education
system to reduce class sizes, provide special attention to students who
are struggling and resource and train their teachers," Dr Kaye said. 
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455