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Breaking
News: Week of 24 December 2007
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From Monday 17 December 2007 through Sunday 20 January 2008, PLATO's Breaking News coverage is on "Summer Holidays", and will be limited to MAJOR Western Australian education articles, editorials, Op Ed pieces and Letters to the Editor. Important national stories from The Australian [and if time permits, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald] will be included whenever possible. The home page will be updated only once a day, normally in the evening.
We anticipate that full coverage will resume on Monday 21 January 2008.
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PLATO's
Christmas Reruns
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Stop Press!
Mr Mike
Keely has been awarded the
2007 PLATO Ambivalence Trophy
for
changing his public stance on virtually every education issue more often than
he changes his socks.
Runner-up
was Mr Obie Levels:
Actually,
I wouldn't mind if someone stole my identity.
I'm sick of being known as the fool who dreamed up Levelling.
Finally,
some good advice from Santa
 |
© The West Australian
© The Australian
© The Age
Brave new words for education revolution
by Kevin Donnelly
"In relation to education, who said the following? "We are doing an absolute disservice to our kids by a lack of rigour in schools' curricula"; "We need to make sure that kids end up with all of the basic skills"; "It is absolute nonsense, you know - trendoid, politically correct social engineering - to believe that in any way testing is inappropriate" and, I am "an education traditionalist"."Which political party took to the last federal election an education policy based on defending the right of non-government schools to continued funding, a back-to-basics approach to literacy and numeracy, A to E reporting where some fail, and a commitment to holding schools and teachers accountable for performance?
"If you thought former prime minister John Howard and the former Coalition government, think again. The correct answer is Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. When it comes to school education, it is clear that the ALP, over the past 12 months, captured the Howard government's agenda by reinventing itself as conservative.
"Beginning in 2008, Prime Minister Rudd, copying Tony Blair and Bill Clinton when they were first elected, has promised an education revolution. Will the Rudd Government be able to deliver?
"Given the federal Government's intention to work co-operatively with states and territories, as represented by last week's Council of Australian Governments' meeting, there is justification for thinking that much will be achieved in terms of strengthening Australia's education system.
"On a number of election promises, the road ahead appears relatively straightforward. The promise to deliver computers and internet access to senior school students - even though there is little, if any research evidence supporting the benefits of computers in schools - is doable in terms of funding and rolling out resources.
"The proposal to build technical centres in all secondary schools and to provide universal access to early learning for four-year-olds will be costly and difficult, especially in terms of finding the required staff but, once again, with the right planning and curriculum support, all should be well.
"But is such optimism justified? Based on the parlous condition of Australian education, the answer is no. The fact that, after 11 years, even the conservative Howard government was unable to remedy the inertia and self-interest represented by state education bureaucracies and assorted fellow travellers suggests that the Rudd Government will find it difficult to effect genuine change.
"One of the greatest obstacles to improving Australian education is that the system suffers from provider capture. Instead of being run for the benefit of students, education systems, especially government, are run for the benefit of bureaucrats, teachers unions and other vested interest groups, something the Government appears unwilling to challenge.
"Unlike non-government schools that have a high degree of autonomy and are able to better reflect the needs of their local communities with control over hiring, firing and rewarding better performing staff, government schools are shackled to an unresponsive and inflexible command and control system of management.
"By giving control of the proposed national curriculum board to the groups responsible for Australia's dumbed down curriculum, such as the Curriculum Corporation and the Australian Council for Educational Research, the Government is in danger of putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank and repeating mistakes similar to Western Australia's outcomes-based education approach and Tasmania's Essential Learnings.
"Much of the Government's education agenda, based on a managerial approach to learning, focusing on improving productivity, measuring outcomes and making schools accountable, draws on Britain's Blair agenda, not surprising given the ALP networks that extend from Australia to groups such as the London-based left-wing think tank, Demos.
"While much has been made of initiatives introduced under the Blair regime, such as developing a national curriculum with increased testing and accountability, academy schools and early childhood education, there is evidence Blair's education revolution has failed to deliver.
"Based on the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment test results, and not withstanding the additional billions spent, in mathematics, British students dropped from eighth in 2000 to 24th in 2006 and over the same period dropped from seventh to 17th in reading. Research undertaken by the Sutton Trust by Alan Smithers, concludes that it is hard to find evidence that standards have improved and many fear, over the Blair years, that the A-level certificate has been dumbed down to ensure more students achieve excellent results.
"The forthcoming term of the new federal Government presents a unique opportunity to learn from Australian and overseas experience and research about what works in education. As to whether Rudd's education revolution, as with Blair's legacy, will fail to match the rhetoric, only time will tell."
Kevin Donnelly is director of Melbourne-based Education Strategies and the author of Dumbing Down.
From The Australian at link
"So, Mark McGowan is suggesting we exclude disruptive disabled students from mainstream classes (20/12)
"As a primary teacher of many years, with a husband who is a secondary teacher, I would like to suggest that Mr McGowan first exclude the many mainstream students from classes where they are disruptive, violent towards other students and staff alike and constantly divert teachers from meeting other students' needs."In many classrooms across the State, there are multiple offenders and there is more than "considerably disquiet" among teachers. There should be concern among parents about the amount of time wasted on "behaviour management" in our classrooms, time that is taken away from teaching and learning.
"Many children come into schools these days expecting everything to revolve around them. They have not been taught to share, consider others' feelings, to listen and obey the teacher. I agree that at times some disabled students are disruptive, but they cause much less loss of learning time.
"In my experience, having a disabled child in the classroom is often a very positive experience for all. Mr McGowan needs to spend more time addressing the major concerns of teachers rather than using a small minority as a scapegoat."
Name and address supplied
- Issues In Educational Research [Vol 17, 2007]
- Australia's adoption of outcomes based education: A critique
by Kevin Donnelly
Abstract:
Since the development of the Keating Government's national statements and profiles, during the early to mid 90s, all Australian states and territories, to a greater or lesser degree, have adopted an outcomes-based education approach to school curriculum. Drawing on the writings of the US academic, William Spady, and in opposition to the more traditional, academic and competitive model of curriculum, OBE promotes a new-age and progressive approach to teaching and learning. OBE is based on a developmental and constructivist philosophy of education and, as a result, more formal methods of teaching, competitive assessment and placing the disciplines centre stage give way to a situation where teachers 'facilitate', students are described as 'knowledge navigators' and dispositions and attitudes take priority over received knowledge. The paper offers an outline of Australia's adoption of OBE and argues that OBE is conceptually flawed, difficult to implement and substandard when compared to either what is termed a syllabus or a standards model of curriculum development.
Full article available at this link
- The Washington Post
- Elementary Math Grows Exponentially Tougher
by Maria Glod
Students, Teachers Tackle Algebra
"Joanne Tegethoff teaches algebra. Never mind that her students carry Disney princess and Thomas the Tank Engine backpacks and have the alphabet taped on their desks. The Montgomery County first-graders one recent afternoon were learning to write "number sentences" to help Lucy Ladybug. "Lucy wakes up and puts five spots on her back," Tegethoff told the class. "Then she gets confused. She wants 10 spots. What's missing?""Tegethoff used to teach what she called "very boring math," using worksheets of addition and subtraction problems. Now her lessons delve into algebraic thinking. By the third grade, Viers Mill Elementary students are solving equations with letter variables.
"Long considered a high school staple, introductory algebra is fast becoming a standard course in middle school for college-bound students. That trend is putting new pressure on such schools as Viers Mill to insert the building blocks of algebra into math lessons in the earliest grades. Disappointing U.S. scores on international math tests have added to the urgency of a movement that is rippling into kindergarten. At stake, some politicians say, is the country's ability to produce enough scientists and engineers to compete in the global economy.
"But education experts say students aren't the only ones who need more rigorous instruction. Too many elementary school teachers, they say, lack the know-how to teach math effectively.
"You can't teach what you don't know, and your students won't love the subject unless you love the subject," Kenneth I. Gross, a University of Vermont mathematics and education professor, recently told a group of college mathematicians at a conference hosted by the U.S. Education Department and the National Science Foundation. "All of mathematics depends on what kids do in the elementary grades. If you don't do it right, you're doing remedial work all the way up to college. Arithmetic, algebra and geometry are intertwined."
"Gross and others say many elementary and middle school teachers -- generalists relied on to teach reading, science and social studies and even to make sure a child's coat is zipped -- are drawn to teaching by a love of children and literacy. Most had little exposure to high-level math in college and are more at home with words than numbers."Many of them fear math," said Vickie Inge, math outreach director with the University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. "Many of them had trouble with math themselves." ...
Full story in The Washington Post at link
- The Australian
- Teacher shortage threatens PM's plan
by Andrew McGarry, The Nation
"Lack of teachers could scupper Kevin Rudd's education revolution, as Gen X and Gen Y turn their backs on the poor conditions and the demands that come with the job.
"The warning comes from researchers Katherine Hodgetts and Janette Hancock, from the Hawke Institute, who are about to start a study on media representations of education and why new teachers leave the profession.
"Dr Hancock said generational differences could have significant implications for the future of schooling, including the Prime Minister's education revolution, which includes plans for a computer for every student from Year 9.
"There's got to be someone there to turn the computer on, and if you don't have anyone there to do that, because of problems in the system, that's an issue," Dr Hancock said.
"Dr Hodgetts said any government committed to education would invest in technology, particularly IT. "But going along with that there needs to be comparable investment in the skills of the teaching profession and to give members of the profession time to plan to use the technology in a way that's useful for the children," she said.
"Existing research suggests 40 per cent of Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Y (those born after 1980) were leaving teaching after five years or less.
"Some teachers are not being given the time to upskill in technology," Dr Hancock said.
"Where older teachers viewed the profession as a vocation, Dr Hodgetts said younger teachers appeared frustrated by factors including poor pay, long hours and extensive expectations, combined with a high level of public and media criticism of their work."
From The Australian at link
- Uni funding must rise to match Oxford
by Milanda Rout, Higher Education
"Australia will never have a world-class university such as Harvard or Oxford without dramatically increasing funding to the tertiary sector, the head of the nation's elite universities has warned.
"Group of Eight universities chair Alan Robson said the country could not compete at the elite international level unless campuses were funded on a similar scale to Harvard - which benefits from a private endowment fund of more than $34.9 billion.
"The University of Western Australia vice-chancellor also urged universities to diversify and called on the Rudd Government to set up a $20 million fund to reward "high impact" research. ..."
Full story in The Australian at link
- The West Australian
- Anger at disables pupils plan (page 15)
by Bethany Hiatt"A support group for parents of disabled children has attacked a proposal to exclude some students with disabilities from mainstream schools because of concerns they disrupt classes and divert attention from other pupils.
"The Foundation for Social Inclusion, set up to support parents of disabled children in State schools, has written to Alan Carpenter deploring the proposal by Education Minister Mark McGowan to change WA's inclusive schooling policy, saying it could undermine decades of work to build an inclusive education system.
"The group is also concerned the issue could be used as a bargaining chip in industrial negotiations with teachers..."Full story in The West Australian
- The Australian
- Editorial
Universities compete with world's best
It's time to take stock of the tertiary sector
"Now the election dust has settled, Australia's university sector has begun lobbying the federal Government in earnest for more money. Comments by the Group of Eight universities chairman, Alan Robson, that Australia will never have a world-class university such as Harvard or Oxford without dramatically increased funding are part of that worthwhile effort. Oxford, with more than 900 years of tradition and royal and church patronage, and Harvard, which has accumulated a private endowment fund of more than $34.9 billion over 370 years, are in leagues of their own. The universities of Sydney and Melbourne, by comparison, which are two of the wealthiest in this country, have endowments of just over $1 billion each. While large by Australian standards, it took them more than 150 years to accumulate these funds, whereas Stanford University in the US, for example, raises the same amount of money in a single year.
"Given their relatively modest finances, the top players in Australia's tertiary sector are strong performers. Achievements such as the creation of the world's first cancer vaccine, by the University of Queensland's Professor Ian Frazer, in the battle against cervical cancer, mean Australian researchers can compete with, and sometimes beat, the world's best. And the tertiary sector's reputation for quality teaching attracted 170,000 full fee-paying international students last year, making education Australia's fourth-largest export industry. Professor Robson is Vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia - from which researcher Barry Marshall and his colleague Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 2005 - was on target in calling for a fund to reward "high impact" research. The majority of Australian research is undertaken in universities, and it is an unfortunate anomaly that those projects that win the lion's share of competitive research grants - mainly, but not exclusively, those in the Group of Eight - are the most heavily penalised for their research success. This is because all universities are forced to supplement their funding grants from their operating budgets. The Rudd Government must address this serious drag on the nation's research effort."Vicki Thomson, director of the Australian Technology Network of Universities, made a sound observation when she said Australia's institutions would continue to struggle financially without the culture of philanthropy enjoyed by major overseas institutions. In the past decade, Australia's emergence as a front-line player in such fields as biotechnology and nanotechnology has been due in large part to multiple donations of tens of millions of dollars at a time by Irish-American billionaire Chuck Feeney's Atlantic Philanthropies. Mr Feeney has set an example for corporate Australia and for the nation's wealthier citizens, which to date are yet to respond with proportionate largesse. While few Australians or home-grown companies could match donations like the $105 million that Nike founder Philip H Knight gave his alma mater, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, last year, universities need to turn their marketing expertise to fostering a strong philanthropic culture among their alumni.
"The real target of Professor Robson's comments, however, was not potential private donors but the Rudd Government. While elected on an "education revolution" mantra, universities rated surprisingly little discussion in the election campaign. Labor has promised to phase out full-fee paying places and introduce an extra 11,000 HECS places for priority courses such as teaching and engineering. It also promised $202 million for more scholarships. As a start, universities will be seeking full compensation for the loss of revenue from full-fee paying domestic students. If and when that issue is resolved - and universities are anxious to see the details as soon as possible - they will seek an increase in public funding, over and above rising inflation. In the years of the Howard government, public funding as a share of university revenue fell from 57 per cent to 41 per cent, with student contributions making up most of the difference. Public investment in tertiary education fell by 4 per cent from 1996 to 2004, although the sector will benefit in the medium to long term from the Howard government's $6billion Higher Education Endowment Fund, which was designed to create a perpetual income stream to fund capital works and research infrastructure.
"Whatever extra public money is forthcoming, Professor Robson is correct to point out that institutions need to do their part to improve the sector by specialising in their strengths. Resources would be used more effectively if so many universities no longer offered broadly similar courses. Eliminating duplication in universities is difficult as it involves significant disruptions, but as tertiary education reaches a crossroads, it can no longer be shelved. The role of the nation's private degree providers, which now outnumber the 38 publicly funded universities, needs to be factored into the mix. As the new Government begins with a clean slate, it has the scope to take stock of the sector and seek advice from university leaders and stakeholders, such as business, as it shapes the sector's future. Australia has eight universities in the world's top 100, and some of the highest flyers aspire, justifiably, to climb into the top 10. The real issue is not about creating institutions to rival Harvard or Oxford, but helping the sector to reach its impressive potential."
From The Australian at link
- The West Australian
- Letters to the Editor
- It's so obvious
"I write in response to Mike Keely's letter (A merit pay system could never work, 21/12). I am not a teacher but I fully understand his lack of confidence in any system which would try to numerically value the performance of teachers - professional people, professionally educated over four years, who are now working on educating students from a wide range of backgrounds with a wide range of domestic baggage behind and with them.
"I empathise with Mr Keely because some years ago I was involved in a big corporation which contracted consultants to introduce a range of incentives, including annual performance appraisals.
"The first drawback in the scheme was that every high appraisal had to be matched with a low one - so that equilibrium was maintained. The second drawback was that every person who was selected for a low appraisal - deserved or not - rather than accepting it as an incentive, took it badly and struggled to get going again.
"But the worst effect, mentioned by My Keely and illustrated by the senior managers in my own corporation, was that they ceased to work together for the benefit of the company and the shareholders, preferring to work alone for the benefit of their own division's bottom-line profit and so, hopefully, to increase their own merit pay.
"It is human nature - and regrettably, it is bleeding obvious."
Nigel Williams, Edgewater
- Clear summary
"I commend Mike Keely. Never before in the, dare I say "dumbed down" debate on education, have all the variables that teachers face in their daily endeavours been spelled out so clearly. The variables can be summarised as intelligence, age, home education advantage and intellectual maturation rate.
"The ABCD method of describing children's educational progress tells more about these variables than it does about a child's academic performance. Learning is a pathway that is the same for all children. They simply move along it at different rates for valid reasons.
"The academic path will end up by being much longer for some than others because of higher intellectual capacity. Once this principle is understood, t hen properly implemented outcomes-based-education makes good sense. At best, parents engage in the process and get to know the milestones along the pathway. Far from dumbing down the curriculum for bright children, it allows them the freedom to fly. It also facilitates the setting of realistic goals for all children."
J Doreen Moulds, Lesmurdie.
- Silly bureaucrats
"Another year of education has ended for my three kids. While we managed to get our eldest through high school without too much interference from the OBE saga, we do, however, have two more in primary school - a school which has had five principals in four years and when we finally get one who brings some consistency he is kicked out of the job on the last day of school.
"This man is a great principal, well-liked by the students, parents and staff. When the parents complained we were told the department can't be seen to give in to our demands.
"We don't need performance based pay for teachers, we need it for bureaucrats who just respond with the standard jargon and couldn't actually give a toss what we think."
Jenni Coggin, Dianella.
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- Sacking escalates tensions at music school
by Anna Patty Education Editor
"The head of the Conservatorium of Music High School, Robert Curry, has sacked a teacher, escalating his battle with staff, parents and former students of the school opposed to his radical curriculum changes.
"The dismissal follows Dr Curry's controversial decision to restrict subject choices and to halve the intake of year 7 students next year.
"Mandarin will replace Latin as the compulsory language in year 7 and modern history will be offered in preference to ancient history. Parents and teachers have complained about the changes, saying they will restrict students' choices..."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The Age
- Green cash for schools put on hold
Schools will face lengthy delays receiving grants for rainwater tanks and solar hot water systems after the Federal Government scrapped the popular Green Vouchers for Schools program.
- Letter to the Editor
- Talking of pork
"Of course new schools will be built in Labor seats ("Pork-barrelling claim on schools", The Age, 27/12). Victorians who need schools in their area naturally vote Labor as they remember that the Liberals don't build schools, they close them, shove the teachers onto the unemployment queue and sell the land."
Chris Curtis, Hurstbridge
Saturday – Sunday, 29 – 30 December
- The West Australian
- Curriculum chief to meet angry parents over poor OBE scores (page 4)
by Bethany Hiatt"Many TEE students achieved such low marks in the new outcomes-based education engineering course that the Curriculum Council has taken he unusual step of scheduling special meetings to discuss their results with them and their parents.
"Schools and irate parents made formal complaints to the Curriculum Council that the TEE engineering paper, which about 140 students sat last month, contained questions that had not appeared in the course syllabus or in sample exams provided by the council.
"Curriculum Council chief executive David Wood conceded the engineering exam had proved more difficult than expected, with the top engineering student achieving 82.7 per cent, scaled up from a raw exam mark of just 70 per cent.
"There were 17 complaints about engineering studies," he said, "This is why I have taken the unusual step of writing to students and parents to discuss their concerns personally."
"Some engineering students obtained between 20 and 30 fewer marks than they expected, driving down their scores used for university entrance.
"Guildford Grammar School student Charles Palmer said he was disappointed that he was likely to just miss out on getting into the tertiary course he had chosen because of the drip in his engineering results.
"This was the first time that Year 12's did the engineering course, which was one of three OBE courses that started in schools in 2006.
"The other two were media production and analysis and English. Syllabuses for all three courses are now being re-written.
"The council received 12 complaints about the OBE media paper, which more than 900 students tackled. Teachers said the exam was poorly constructed and did not adequately examine material students had covered in Year 12. "While many students found this examination a little more difficult than expected, the highest (raw) score was 91 per cent, indicating that near perfect scores were possible for the best students," Mr. Wood said.
"Despite initial concerns from teachers, and six complaints, results from the OBE English exam were similar to those from exams in previous years. The top student achieved 100 per cent, scaled back to 97.1
"Fifteen per cent more students sat the English examination, indicating the new course may have encouraged more students to consider further study at university."
From The West Australian
Letter to the Editor (page 23)
- New Year wish
"I was wondering whether, in the coming year, we could have hospitals with beds, nurses and doctors in them. A police force that would be able to protect my family from being abused in the street and threatened or killed on the roads, and an education system that has a structured syllabus that gives teachers something to work with.
"Oh yes, and a new government, please, that is fully functional and not full of hot air and big words that achieves nothing and treats ordinary people with utter contempt."
Glenda Brown, Geraldton
- The Australian
- Feature
The value of being put to the test
by Kevin Donnelly
"Christmas isn't only about the Christian ritual surrounding the birth of Christ, the Boxing Day Test, beach holidays and summer barbecues.
"This is also the time when thousands of Australian students receive their Year 12 results and find out whether they have achieved a high enough score to gain entry to their chosen tertiary studies.
"What is the best way to decide tertiary entry and the most effective way to achieve a just and equitable system? On one hand, cultural-Left groups such as the Australian Curriculum Studies Association and the Australian Education Union argue that Year 12 competitive, external examinations, including the Victorian Certificate of Education, are educationally unsound, elitist and socially unjust."Not only do end-of-year, formal examinations promote rote-learning and memorisation, so the argument goes, but such examinations also disadvantage working-class and migrant students as students from wealthy, middle class private schools achieve the best results.
"The solution? Some education systems, such as in the ACT and Queensland, have dispensed with external examinations in favour of what is termed school-based assessment: a situation where the results a student achieves are based on work completed and assessed within their school.
"Instead of selecting students on the basis of a numerical score, such as NSW's University Admission Index or Victoria's ENTER, many universities also positively discriminate in favour of so-called disadvantaged students and are increasingly using alternative ways of selecting students, such as interviews and aptitude tests.
"This trend is epitomised by the controversial Western Australian Certificate of Education. Some critics of competitive examinations also argue that it is wrong to rank students one against the other in terms of performance or to grade students in terms of a percentage mark. The alternative is to grade students in terms of broad levels, for example, on a five-point scale A to E, and against agreed criteria.
"In opposition to those arguing that external examinations are obsolete and unfair, and that alternative methods of selection must be employed, is an increasing body of evidence that the more traditional approach to Year 12 assessment and deciding tertiary selection, while far from perfect, is the best method.
"The University of Queensland's medical school has recently decided to stop using interviews as a method of selecting prospective undergraduates. Not only was it found that there was little, if any, relationship between how well students performed in the interview and their subsequent academic results, but using interviews opened the system to allegations of bias.
"Using aptitude tests to measure students' generic reasoning and thinking skills, on the assumption that those students who do well will succeed in their tertiary studies, is also open to criticism. In their submission to the inquiry into developing a national Year 12 certificate of education, a number of universities argued that using aptitude tests would weaken students' academic ability.
"Not only are aptitude tests content-free, so to speak, but making students sit a subject-based examination forces them to spend time, energy and concentration mastering the essential knowledge and understanding associated with that discipline, a process on which success at the tertiary level depends.
"As noted in the Senate report Quality of School Education, released in September 2007, basing results on school-based assessment instead of students sitting a common state-wide examination under the same conditions undermines the credibility of the system. One problem relates to the difficulty in guaranteeing the results a student receives in one school are comparable to the results gained by a student in a different school.
"In his submission to the Senate inquiry into the quality and standards of Year 12 certificates, John Ridd, a Queensland teacher of many years' experience, raises a related problem concerning students completing assignments over extended periods outside the classroom; as a result, it is difficult to guarantee that the work they do is their own.
"One of the more strident claims made against competitive academic examinations is that they lead to social inequality and injustice. Those students achieving the best results in examinations such as the VCE are from the non-government sector, supposedly with privileged backgrounds and wealthy parents. Ignored is the example of selective high schools in NSW, such as James Ruse Agricultural College, North Sydney Girls High, Sydney Girls High and Hornsby Girls High, that consistently outperform non-government schools. Also forgotten is the record of many disadvantaged migrant students, especially those with an Asian background, in achieving excellence.
"In addressing the complaint our education system reinforces social disadvantage, a criticism often made by the University of Melbourne's Barry McGaw and repeated in a series of ALP policy papers over the past 12 months, it should also be noted the most recent results of the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development-sponsored Program for International Student Assessment tests suggest the opposite.
"On analysing the PISA results, Australian Council for Educational Research director Geoff Masters observes: "Another indicator of the world-class nature of our education system is the observation that the relationship between socioeconomic background and student achievement in Australia is weaker than the OECD average. In the popular jargon, Australia is a 'high quality (and) high equity' country based on our PISA 2006 performance. And again, this observation is made not only in relation to scientific literacy but also for mathematical and reading literacy."
"The benefits of academic, competitive examinations are not restricted to Year 12 and tertiary selection; research carried out by the German academic Ludger Woessmann argues that such examinations have a flow-down effect in terms of raising the academic standards achieved by schools and systems.
"One of the significant characteristics of those education systems that outperform Australia's in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study tests is the presence of external competitive examinations, and Woessmann concludes: "The evidence from TIMSS-Repeat (a follow-up test) confirms previous evidence from TIMSS that students in countries with central exit-exam systems perform better in their middle-school years both in maths and science than students in countries without central exams. This finding holds even after controlling for a large set of variables ... for background, resource endowment and other institutional features of the school systems."
"As common sense suggests, having high-stakes examinations at Year 12 focuses the minds of students lower down in the school and gives them a benchmark they know they have to reach if they want to achieve success. Creating a disciplined, academic environment in the senior years, one where excellence is rewarded and there are consequences for failure, also helps set the climate for the school as a whole."
Kevin Donnelly is author of Dumbing Down and director of Melbourne-based Education Strategies
From The Australian at link
- The Sunday Times
- Students can become teachers without TEE
by Paul Lampathakis
Teachers fast-tracked
"More than 50 school leavers will be allowed to study to become teachers, without having sat for TEE exams."As the teacher shortage deepens, Edith Cowan University has offered 52 non-TEE high school graduates "direct entry'' into its 2008 education course.
"But ECU staff say that, far from this being an easy way in, the university picked only high-achieving Year 12 graduates, who hadn't chosen TEE subjects, but deserved an opportunity to do tertiary studies.
"And though WA Education Minister Mark McGowan has fought to make exams compulsory for all Year 12 non-vocational students from 2009, he backed ECU's initiative.
"A TEE score should not be the sole prerequisite for becoming a teacher,'' he said. ``We need people with life experience and valuable workplace experience teaching our students, as well.''
"Mr McGowan said ECU had well-developed criteria for deciding who was eligible for its teaching courses, which considered grades, leadership skills, letters of recommendation and the results of an interview.
"State School Teachers Union president Mike Keely, who has warned WA would be short about 600 teachers next year, also backed the program.
"He said universities should not be judged on how they picked students, but on whether they produced good teachers.
"ECU partnership director Kevin Pilkington said there were strict entry requirements for non-TEE candidates, who were recommended by principals, these included attaining at least a level five in Year 12 English.
"Students also had to have As and Bs in subjects to get enough points for the direct- entry program being piloted in 20 WA high schools.
"I've said to schools, `Do not send me a student that you would not welcome back in four years as a member of your staff','' Mr Pilkington said.
"Former Churchlands Senior High School student Suzanna Serodio, 18, was accepted for the 2008 course. She did not do TEE subjects because she did not think she would excel, having lagged behind in her early schooling after tough beginnings in foster homes.
"She got As in all her subjects and realised her dream of entering ECU's teaching course."
From The Sunday Times at link
- Poor public show (page 5)
by Paul Lampathkis"WA public schools had their poorest showing in the TEE top 40 in eight years. Only six Government students were among the best 40 for which General Exhibitions are awarded, based on the average of five TEE scaled marks..."
"In 2006, 2005 and 2004, there were 15, 11 and 17 government students respectively in the General Exhibitions list. There were only three in 1999..."
"Opposition Leader Paul Omodei said education was just one of the areas in which the WA Government was failing.
"Unfortunately, our children are bearing the brunt of that failure," Mr Omodei said.
"When you factor in the outcomes-based education implementation debacle and the fact this government can't even put enough teachers into our classrooms, it's not surprising that public schools got their worst showing in the top 40 achievers in eight years.
"Too much time has been spent addressing bureaucratic issues and crises with Band-Aid solutions.
"Many families are moving their children into the private sector because they have lost faith in the public school system under this government."
"But WA Education Minister Mark McGowan said public students performed very consistently in recent years.
"He said there were 320 Government students in the top 1000 in 2007, 320 in 2006 and 328 in 2005. [But this is still only around 32% of the total top achievers! Web]
"The top 40 represented only a small sample of the student population - 40 out of about 30,000 0r 0.13 per cent. So there were bound to be variations from year to year, he said..."
"Private students won 594 awards overall, compared with the 397 by public students..."
Full story in The Sunday Times
- Editorial
Public TEE results not a pass mark (page 75)
"No matter what gloss the Government puts on it, the poor showing of public school students in the best TEE performers' list is bad news.
"The fact that there were only six government school students among the 40 General Exhibitions should ring alarm bells for Education Minister Mark McGowan."Mr McGowan reckons there will always be variations in a sample of students that small.
"But in the previous three years, numbers were quite steady, with 15, 11 and 17 students from state schools in that top group in 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively.
"The Sunday Times has sought in the past to defend the state school system and highlight its successes. But there's no escaping the failure to churn out top performers.
"That's not to say that Mr McGowan hasn't achieved lots in his first year in the difficult education portfolio.
"Pivotally, he untangled most of the mess created by his own Government in its failed implementation of outcomes-based education in Years 11 and 12.
"He got rid of the hated levels assessment in senior high school years, with a return to more traditional forms of marking. Many education experts feel he should also get rid of the use of levels as a marking guide for grades in lower school.
"He established teacher juries to assess new courses, which will alleviate many of the problems previously experienced when implementing OBE subjects.
"His laudable demand that 50 per cent of face-to-face class time be spent on numeracy and literacy will hopefully pay dividends in years to come.
"Staging trials of special centres for unruly public students is at least a move in the right direction to combat the growing menace of unruly and disruptive students.
"Importantly, he also offered significant sums of extra cash to teachers who want to work in remote areas and in difficult schools.
"Though teachers recently rejected his pay offer, when an agreement is finally struck, it should help reduce shortages in WA.
"The minister can argue that private schools pick which students they want and state schools have to take everyone, which skews the TEE results.
"But he needs to consider the latest results, not ignore them, and continue his push to lift standards in government schools."
From The Sunday Times at link
- TEE: Top Marks
- Meet WA's top TEE student [Beazley Medal Winner]
- Christ Church Grammar tops Beazley TEE rankings
- 2007 Secondary School Awards
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- The never ending story
by Sarah Price
"School may be out but 21,000 students, many from disadvantaged areas, will keep up the reading habit as part of a NSW Government program to boost literacy.
"If infant and primary school students stop reading during the long break, their skills could slide substantially, Department of Education and Training program director Rani Lewis-Jones said.
"A study of American schools found a drop of up to 25 per cent in reading skills during a five- to six-week holiday period, she said. ...."
Full story in The Sydney Morning Herald at link
- The Sunday Age
- Teachers told not to be gun shy
by Robert Booth, London
"Boys should be encouraged to play with toy guns at infant school because it can help improve academic performance, according to British Government advice.
"The Department for Children, Schools and Families said boys aged between three and five had fallen behind female classmates partly because teaching staff tried to curb their desire for boisterous play involving weapons. Boys were more likely to be interested in education and would do better if encouraged to pursue their chosen play. ...."
Full story in The Sunday Age at link
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This page last updated 13 August, 2008 0:43 AM
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