Page 3339 - Week 09 - Thursday, 22 August 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
It is apparently quite appropriate for students, presumably of any age, to miss a day of school because they are so far behind in their studies. That is obviously what the minister believes. She continues to suggest that the ACT is leading the country in educational outcomes but, in the past three years, there have been no fewer than four reports, all independently researched, that paint a serious picture of academic underperformance in our schools.
The Lamb report, commissioned by the ACT government and entirely misunderstood by the education minister, said:
State and Territory results show that after taking account of intake and context differences, ACT government schools on average achieve negative results on every measure.
The second example is a report from the Australia Institute which the authors made public in 2017 after they realised that the government was not likely to do anything with it. The report suggests that in 41 per cent of cases, ACT schools were significantly below other schools. At the time, the institute’s Andrew Macintosh said that the ACT government’s ongoing future of education community conversation was not enough. He said:
ACT public schools are performing below similar schools in other jurisdictions despite expenditure on a per student basis for public schools being one of the highest in the country.
The ACT’s own Auditor-General came to the conclusion that the ACT government schools on average achieve negative results on every measure. She found:
ACT public schools are performing below similar schools in other jurisdictions despite expenditure on a per student basis for public schools being one of the highest in the country. Since 2014 reviews of ACT public schools have consistently identified shortcomings in their analysis of student performance information and their use of data to inform educational practice. These shortcomings indicate a systemic problem.
The fourth report was a very well researched and documented submission by an ACT teacher who has consistently expressed concern at what he sees firsthand as failings in our schools.
How does the minister respond to these concerns from recognised credible researchers? Like any poor workman, she blames the tools. On cue, she drags out the now somewhat unsupported line that says that Canberra remains typically the highest or equal highest performer in the vast majority of assessment domains and year levels. When challenged about declining NAPLAN results, she attacks the test, claiming that it has become a trigger for stress, anxiety and depression among some students.
Mr Gentleman: Point of order, Mr Assistant Speaker.
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Wall, can you be seated, please.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video