Justine Ferrari; 29/8/08
Leading indigenous education expert Chris Sarra called on teachers to embrace federal government plans to hold schools accountable for their students’ performance, describing it as long overdue. Dr Sarra, executive director of the Indigenous Education Leadership Institute, said it was only right that tough questions were being asked of teachers and schools. “It’s right that we’re being asked some hard questions about performance, and it’s right we’re being made to feel uncomfortable,” he said. “Frankly, there’s nothing to be comfortable about.” In a speech on Wednesday, Kevin Rudd outlined plans requiring individual schools to report within three years, comparing their performances with similar groups of schools and revealing student progress or the value schools have added. The plans also include extra funding agreements to reward excellent teaching and to assist struggling schools, with an extra $500,000 for an average-sized school.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24259192-5013404,00.html
Star pupil shows attendance magic
Paige Taylor; 29/8/08
Amanda Nelson is the pride of Wingellina Remote Community School near the Western Australia-Northern Territory border. The seven-year-old Year 2 student has an attendance record of 99 per cent, and her principal, Kevin Riordan, says she is the only pupil at the desert school whose literacy and numeracy skills are on a par with national benchmarks. None of the school’s 20 pupils, aged up to 14, can read fluently and only five can add double-digit figures. But Mr Riordan said he welcomed the federal Government’s plan to collate and publish detailed information on the performance of individual schools, including comparative data that would measure Wingellina against other schools across a range of areas. He said he hoped it would help bureaucrats better understand the link between non-attendance and poor academic results for many children in the vast Ngaanyatjarra lands. Just eight of Wingellina’s 20 students were in class yesterday, which Mr Riordan said was usual.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24259190-5013404,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Education