Page 2839 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 24 June 2009
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THE CHAIR: So you are stating that they—
she is referring to Hall, Tharwa and Flynn—
were not getting good educational outcomes?
Mr Barr: I am saying that there are a range of issues that are relevant in that consideration across some of those schools that are not, or were not at the time, able to be publicly released, but, happily, as a result of …
Ms Bresnan intervened there and said:
I think we probably need to be careful about what you are saying there, Mr Barr.
Mr Barr: No. This is coming to the real point.
at which point Ms Bresnan again said that I needed to be careful and I reiterated:
This is coming to the real point, Madam Chair. I was not able to release some of that data … through the new agenda, that data will be publicly available.
I hope, Madam Assistant Speaker, that the Greens note this contradiction and join with me in supporting this important reform. Parents want it and students need it.
In conclusion, accountability and transparency in education are important. Parents want more information. With more accurate information, parents have greater choice. Parents can chat with their kids and make better decisions about education. With more accurate information, teachers will know not only how their students are tracking, but they will get to see how similar schools are going. They will look across to the next suburb, meet other teachers and principals, and compare notes.
Using this information, teachers can reassess their classroom plans and teaching strategies. With more accurate information, governments will know where resources and specialist expertise need to be allocated. Governments can then use taxpayers’ money more wisely and create better schools and better futures for our students. This, Madam Assistant Speaker, is why transparency and accountability in schools is such an important and progressive reform for this city and for this country.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (12.15): I must say before I start, Mr Barr, that it would be very appropriate for you to listen to what our point of view is before prejudging what we are going to do.
The issues raised today in Ms Hunter’s motion are really very obvious, and I think all parties agree on the basic premise that any information on school performance, socioeconomic status of students and numbers of staff at ACT schools that is made public must not be able to be manipulated for the purposes of misuse and misinterpretation.
The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs—MCEETYA—has put in place principles and protocols on this reporting, and specific
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