Kate Burton

The Federal Labor Government's plan to publish results of literacy and numeracy tests for schools is a regressive proposal. The Federal Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, argues that the publicly-accessible information will be used to inform policy-makers and administrators. She emphasises, in the face of virulent criticism, that the information will also enable parents and families to make a better assessment of which school to send their child or children, especially in areas of disadvantage where there are often poor-performing schools. And she adds it might energise a community to demand better educational outcomes for their children.
What rubbish. Which parent in Bridgewater (Tasmania's 'worst-performing' school) seriously has the option of sending their child anywhere other than the local high school? And how does any community or group of parents have the power to effect changes in how a school is run or the quality of teachers it attracts?
This proposal is nothing other than an attempt to gyp people in lower socio-economic areas into thinking they have more power than they ever will, at the same time as the Government appeals to people who have money to choose one school over another. This is cynical and self-interested politics at its worst. And it will certainly not help the students most in need.