Teachers threaten test ban over My School concerns
Posted
Education groups are calling on the Federal Government to make changes to its My School website following the publication of ranked lists in this morning's papers.
The Australia Education Union (AEU) says the publication of crude league tables has already begun, with Fairfax and News Limited papers printing lists of schools this morning using information available on the website.
Teachers' groups say if nothing is done to stop it happening again, they will refuse to administer the NAPLAN tests.
Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard says the website has been immensely popular with parents, but AEU president Angelo Gavrielatos says that is not the issue.
"Incomplete, invalid, inaccurate data, have now seen the production of crude, damaging, simplistic league tables," he said.
"Julia Gillard must now act. Julia Gillard must fulfil her obligation as the Minister for Education to protect students and school communities from the damage that will follow."
Industry groups have vowed to continue pressuring the Government into correcting what it says are the site's huge inaccuracies.
Ms Gillard says she has spent two years discussing the issue with the union.
"They've raised their issues with me, I've talked to them about it and having had all those conversations, I simply don't agree," she said.
"I am disappointed by the union's stance threatening to ban national testing this year."
Meanwhile, the headmaster of an elite private boy's school in Hobart has warned comparisons on the My School website are unreliable.
Scores for the Hutchins school range from average to significantly above average in all but one category when compared with all schools on the website.
But among a group of schools the website says are statistically similar, it is rated as below average in six of the 20 categories.
Principal Warwick Dean says he will raise the issue with the site's administrators.
"The Hutchins School is a kindergarten to year 12 boys school with a boarding house, and many schools that are in that basket of supposedly similar schools are actually girls' primary schools," he said.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/29/2805299.htm?section=justin
