Page 3819 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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(b) in 2016 the ACT Education Directorate commissioned a study by Professor Stephen Lamb (the “Lamb Report”) to analyse the academic performance of ACT government schools;
(c) the Lamb Report found that ACT government schools on average achieved negative results on every measure;
(d) in 2017 the Australia Institute produced a report into the performance of the ACT education system and called for a public inquiry;
(e) in 2017 the ACT Auditor-General published a report (the “Auditor-General’s Report”) on performance information in ACT government schools;
(f) the Auditor-General’s Report found that the majority of ACT government schools’ NAPLAN results were lower than similar schools in Australia, and that “since 2014 reviews of ACT government schools had consistently identified shortcomings” and these shortcomings “indicate a systemic problem”;
(g) in August 2018 two researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) published a working paper on academic underperformance in ACT schools (the “ANU paper”); and
(h) the ANU paper found that when NAPLAN results of ACT schools were compared with schools from similar socio-economic profiles a large number of ACT students were, on average, more than six months behind the levels of learning; and
(2) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) acknowledge the overwhelming evidence provided over the last three years of academic underperformance in ACT schools and must be addressed as a matter of priority;
(b) establish an independent inquiry into underperformance in ACT schools to:
(i) ascertain the reasons for academic underperformance in ACT schools; and
(ii) make recommendations for improving academic performance in ACT schools; and
(c) publish the terms of reference for the inquiry by the last sitting date in October 2018.
Since taking on responsibility for education on behalf of the Canberra Liberals I have met with many parents, students, teachers and other education professionals. I have visited many ACT schools—government and non-government—and without doubt every school that I have visited or which has been selected by the minister’s office for me to visit has been impressive, as they are intended to be.
They have dedicated, hard-working teachers, engaged students, bright and colourful classrooms and a positive can-do leadership team. As my motion leads with, teachers in Canberra schools work hard to support all students to reach their fullest potential and should be acknowledged for their dedication. And I make that acknowledgement now on behalf of the Canberra Liberals.
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