Principals Say NAPLAN Has a Negative Impact on Schooling

Posted on Thursday June 20, 2013

A survey of primary school principals shows that a majority believe that the NAPLAN tests are having a negative impact on student well-being, curriculum and teaching practices.< >> Read on...

Gonski is on the Right Track – Money Does Matter for Disadvantaged Students

Posted on Tuesday June 18, 2013

The Gonski funding model is on the right track in boosting funding for under-resourced schools and disadvantaged students. The refusal of the Victorian, Queensland, Western Australian and Northern Territory governments to sign on to Gonski will deprive low income, Indigenous and remote area students of the chance to improve their results. >> Read on...

Studies Show that Money Does Matter

Posted on Tuesday June 18, 2013

A research review has found that money does matter in education. Increasing school funding improves student results and that more targeted spending benefits students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Gonski is on the right track. >> Read on...

Explaining the Socio-Economic Gap in School Completion Rates

Posted on Friday June 14, 2013

A new study shows that the two main factors in explaining the gap in school completion rates between low and high socio-economic status students are lower education aspirations of low SES students and their parents and lower academic performance at age 15 by low SES students. It suggests that a multi-faceted approach is needed to reduce the gap. < >> Read on...

The Gillard School Funding Plan is a Watershed But is Not the Full Gonski

Posted on Wednesday June 12, 2013

The Gillard school funding plan is a potential watershed for school funding in Australia. It breaks new ground with its focus on increasing equity in education. However, it is not the full Gonski. >> Read on...

Queensland Premier Criticises NAPLAN as Misleading and Narrowing the Curriculum

Posted on Tuesday June 11, 2013

The Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, has criticised NAPLAN as a high stakes test that is misleading and narrowing the curriculum. < >> Read on...

High Myopia Prevalence in East Asia Linked to After-School Tutoring

Posted on Thursday June 6, 2013

A new academic study has linked the high prevalence of myopia in East Asian countries with extensive use of after-school tutoring. >> Read on...

Call for Independent Review of the Private School Registration Process

Posted on Sunday June 2, 2013

The ACT Branch of the Australian Education Union, the ACT Council of P&C Associations and Save Our Schools have written to the ACT Education Minister and the Chief Minister calling for an independent review of the registration process for private schools in the ACT. The letter outlines six major problems with the current process that warrant a review. < >> Read on...

Report Finds Cheating on High Stakes Tests is Rampant in the US

Posted on Thursday May 30, 2013

The US Government Accountability Office has reported evidence of rampant cheating on high stakes tests, with allegations of cheating in 40 states in the last two years. It says that using awards or recognition for improving test scores can provide incentives to cheat. >> Read on...

Growing Resistance to Market-Based Education in the US

Posted on Wednesday May 29, 2013

There is a growing rebellion by teachers and parents in the United States against market-based education policies that are resulting in resource deprivation in public schools, inequity, public disempowerment and the widespread perception that governing policies are driven by corruption.< >> Read on...

Videos on High Stakes Testing

Posted on Sunday May 26, 2013

View two great videos of news reports on high stakes testing – one from Australia and one from New York. Both should be compulsory viewing. >> Read on...

New Study Shows that School Autonomy Increases the Gap Between Top and Bottom Students

Posted on Saturday May 25, 2013

A new study has found that school autonomy widens the gap between the top and bottom achieving students. It adds to the weight of evidence that increasing school autonomy does not work. < >> Read on...

Students Got Raffle Tickets to do NAPLAN

Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013

Some schools offered students special inducements to do the NAPLAN tests last week. One Tasmanian school offered free breakfasts, raffle tickets and lunch and a movie with a teacher to encourage students to do the tests. >> Read on...

Senate Education Committee Rebuffs Govt & Coalition on School Autonomy

Posted on Saturday May 18, 2013

The Senate education committee has delivered a major rebuff to the Federal Government and the Coalition on school autonomy. It says that there is no clear evidence that greater school autonomy leads to better student performance. >> Read on...

More Stories About NAPLAN

Posted on Friday May 17, 2013

Some more stories about NAPLAN this week. >> Read on...

A Day in the Life of NAPLAN

Posted on Friday May 17, 2013

Some stories about NAPLAN this week from a Canberra government school. >> Read on...

Study Shows Schools Rorting Test Results

Posted on Friday May 17, 2013

A new study of Florida’s high profile school accountability program has found evidence of rorting by schools. It shows that schools were classifying low-performing students into exempt categories that are excluded from the school performance grading so as to artificially raise their test scores. < >> Read on...

Education Minister Should be Sacked for Turning the Approval Process for New Private Schools into a Shambles

Posted on Wednesday May 15, 2013

Save Our Schools has called on the ACT Chief Minister to sack her Education Minister and overhaul the approval process for new private schools in Canberra because the Education Minister has turned the approval process into a shambles. >> Read on...

Media Release: Conspiracy of Silence About the Right to Withdraw Children from NAPLAN Tests

Posted on Tuesday May 14, 2013

There is a conspiracy of silence amongst education authorities about the right of parents to withdraw their children from the NAPLAN tests which begin Tuesday. >> Read on...

Canberra Private School Sets a Great Example on NAPLAN

Posted on Sunday May 12, 2013

A Canberra private school has set a great example for other schools in dealing with NAPLAN and informing parents that they can withdraw their child from the tests. >> Read on...

Approval of New Belconnen Private School Conflicts With Previous Assessment

Posted on Saturday May 11, 2013

The new private school in Belconnen has been approved even though a similar application by another private school was rejected only five years ago because of excess capacity in the area. < >> Read on...

Media Release: Secret Approval of New ACT Private Schools Is Farcical and Cowardly

Posted on Thursday May 9, 2013

The ACT Minister for Education gave secret approval last December for three new private schools in Canberra. A new private school in north-west Belconnen will draw enrolments from existing schools in Belconnen, add to excess capacity and threaten the future of some schools >> Read on...

Yes, There is Something Fishy About NAPLAN (and My School)

Posted on Tuesday May 7, 2013

A television commercial linking a children’s fish-oil supplement to NAPLAN tests produced an outcry last week. A whole industry is being built around NAPLAN testing that is undermining a balanced education and lifestyle for young children. >> Read on...

Public Education Builds Social Cohesion

Posted on Monday May 6, 2013

A Los Angeles parent pays homage to public education and its role in building social cohesion.< >> Read on...

More Evidence that Test-Based Accountability Narrows the Curriculum

Posted on Saturday May 4, 2013

A new academic study has found that test-based accountability measures in the United States have narrowed the curriculum in schools. >> Read on...

Closing the Opportunity Gap

Posted on Thursday May 2, 2013

A new book sets out comprehensive policies to close the opportunity gaps in education. >> Read on...

The OECD Endorses Gonski

Posted on Tuesday April 30, 2013

The OECD has endorsed the findings of the Gonksi report on school funding that the current system lacks coherence and transparency and that reducing inequities in education is a key policy challenge for Australia. >> Read on...

Market-Based Education Policies in the US Have Failed to Increase Student Results

Posted on Saturday April 27, 2013

A review of market-based education “reforms” in the United States has found that they have not delivered the success promised. >> Read on...

The Economic Case for Gonski

Posted on Wednesday April 24, 2013

The economic case for the $6.5 billion investment in disadvantaged schools and students recommended by the Gonski review of school funding is just as compelling as the equity and social justice case. >> Read on...

Social Segregation in Schools is Increasing

Posted on Saturday April 20, 2013

Social segregation in Australia’s schools has increased markedly over the past 25 years. Students from low income families are highly concentrated in public schools while private schools have much larger proportions of their enrolments from high income families. >> Read on...

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