[Greens-Media] NAPLAN test results will be abused

[John Kaye]

NAPLAN test results will be abused
 
Media release: 11 May 2010
 
As students across NSW sit down to the NAPLAN tests, schools still face the inevitability of unfair comparisons and damaging league tables, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
 
Dr Kaye said: "Before the ink was barely dry on her agreement with the Australian Education Union, Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard was telling the media she would continue to publish average test results.
 
"Newspapers and other outlets will still be able to harvest the results and publish school league tables, regardless of what other information is put on the 'my school' website.
 
"Schools and students will be stigmatised and the teachers will be forced to teach to the test.
 
"While Julia Gillard and her NSW colleague Verity Firth continue to tout their opposition to simplistic comparisons, they are providing the data that makes their publication inevitable. 
 
"Unless average scores on the 'my school' website are replaced with more meaningful information about the spread of school performance, league tables and other misleading and dangerous comparisons will be produced. 
 
"It doesn't matter what other material is published on the site, media outlets will still be able to harvest the average results and use them to construct league tables.
 
"Publishing graphs of the spread of outcomes within each school instead of the average figures would make it very difficult to produce league tables. It would also provide much richer information for parents and the community. 
 
"Julia Gillard and Verity Firth are ignoring the obvious solutions and pushing ahead with their war on teachers," Dr Kaye said. 
 

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455
 
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: john.kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
web: www.johnkaye.org.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000