League Tables too ‘opaque’

The Australian, 11 August 20; The Age, 11 August 2009

The former head of the British curriculum authority and former director-general of education in New South Wales and South Australia, Dr Ken Boston, has argued that Australian schools need to accept greater transparency, to ensure that parents do not rely on league tables of school performance information.

Speaking at a forum organised by the Australian Primary Principals’ Association, Dr Boston argued that traditionally league tables were ‘opaque’ and contained little contextual information to explain school results.

He claimed that ‘we need rich reports which explain why a school may be performing less well, not just simplistic league tables...My belief is this would offer greater public accountability than league tables.’

Instead, Dr Boston argued that schools needed to accept national testing and greater scrutiny so that the release of more comprehensive information could be used to improve schools. He stated that ‘if the price of avoiding league tables...is greater external scrutiny...in the interests of the young people in your care and in the interests of the future of Australian education, I think that price is well worth paying’.

Dr Boston has advocated an expansion of existing school annual reports to include information about national test results, teachers, students, curriculum offerings and information on the school’s aims and values. He also called for the creation of a national report template to ensure consistency across schools and states, as well as the establishment of an independent school inspection body to verify the accuracy of any information in school annual reports.

Finally, Dr Boston argued that governments needed to establish support programs and to provide additional resources for underperforming schools. He indicated that if additional support did not improve student performance, ‘then quite drastic action should be taken, even if it involves replacing the head, replacing teachers or closing the school’.

 

 

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