Teachers Ramp Up School League Table Debate

Australian Teachers Ramp Up School League Table Debate – Nz Government Should Sit Up And Listen

Australian teachers are upping the ante in their opposition to school league tables, and the New Zealand government should sit up and listen, says the education sector union NZEI Te Riu Roa.

The Australian Education Union’s Annual Federal Conference has just passed a resolution saying the profession will not co-operate in the implementation of the national testing and assessment programme (NAPLAN) unless satisfactory measures are introduced to stop the further creation and publication of league tables.

It has also vowed to work to provide the necessary information to parents and the community about the critical importance of preventing any further misuse of the testing results. The position has been strongly supported by Australian parents through the Australian Council of State School Organisations.

NZEI President Frances Nelson, who is at the Conference, says NZEI totally supports the resolution and it will resonate strongly in New Zealand.

“As we face a new National Standards regime which is completely untested we have tried to gain a commitment from the government that the Standards data will not be available to draw simplistic comparisons between schools in the form of league tables. It is something which is non-negotiable,” she says.

League tables do nothing to improve student learning and NZEI wants the Government to take steps to prevent National Standards data from misuse.

NZEI is launching a nationwide National Standards school bus tour when schools reopen in February to call for a trial of National Standards before they are implemented.

Frances Nelson says alongside the need to trial National Standards, opposition to school league tables is pivotal in the current debate.

“What is happening in Australia should serve as a timely warning for our government as it proceeds down the fraught path of National Standards.”

ENDS

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