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 Hunter teachers vow test boycotts 

Hunter teachers vow test boycotts

BY ALISON BRANLEY
20 Jan, 2010 03:00 AM
THE Hunter and Central Coast's 7800 government school teachers will join a national boycott of school literacy and numeracy tests if the Federal Government does not stop the creation of league tables.

The Australian Education Union federal conference yesterday unanimously passed a recommendation to boycott the implementation of National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests this May "unless satisfactory measures are introduced to stop the future creation and publication of league tables".

The union fears that when the test results are published online later this month they will be used by the media to rank schools in league tables.

NSW Teachers Federation Hunter organiser Jeff Ainsworth said the tests were never designed to rank schools and were just a snapshot of one day in a student's school career.

"We're also concerned that some schools in low socio-economic areas will be stigmatised," he said.

"In both the United Kingdom and United States the curriculum has narrowed and teachers start teaching to the test."

Union federal president Angelo Gavrielatos told the conference in Melbourne league tables represented one of the greatest challenges to the profession in history.

The union has given the Federal Government until April 12 to introduce appropriate measures to stop league tables, including possible federal legislation, before it pushes ahead with a boycott.

NAPLAN is the national numeracy and literacy test of children in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Julia Gillard said Ms Gillard was adamant the website would go live on January 28. Ms Gillard said parents were hungry for information about their children's performance and national testing would satisfy that need.

"The worst thing in the world is for a child to be at an under-performing school, not getting a good education, and for no one to ever know about it and no one to ever do anything to remedy it," she said. with AAP

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first
Forget about teachers being public servants serving the community. Teachers Federation members are only concerned about themselves.
Posted by Jen, 20/01/2010 3:48:04 AM, on The Herald
Perhaps the government could develop a syllabus, particularly the Stages 4 and 5 English syllabus, that reflects the testing, this includes the School Certificate. For those of you who will comment on this article, and who aren't teachers, what you will find is the syllabus (in English), which we are required to teach by, does not reflect the tests the students are required to sit and these are the same tests in which the government wants to rank our schools and students by. If we teach to the tests, we are not teaching to the syllabus and vice versa. I am sure to the narrow minded folk out there, who attended school, thus know the ins and outs of running a school, will deem me a whinger, but the fact is we either teach to one or the other.
Posted by boo, 20/01/2010 6:05:38 AM, on The Herald
Ms Gillard has surprisingly underestimated parent's desire not to have their child's school labelled. Schools providing support to disadvantaged communities need their efforts to be affirmed, not demeaned. These school always have open communication with parents, and don't need an impersonal league table with the potential to demoralise students doing their best. Ms Gillard should understand from the resolve of teachers that her plan is professionally inept. She should note the determination of parent organisations and realise that her plan is unacceptable, a relic of borrowed policy that has little support outside the offices of her acolytes. It has been rejected by the education community: It surely deserves to fail. Opposed by teachers, and unwanted by parents, the Gillard plan is essentially immoral. On that ground alone it deserves to fail.
Posted by Russell, 20/01/2010 7:39:07 AM, on The Herald
teachers accountable, welcome to the real world......
Posted by Feathered Friend, 20/01/2010 7:45:54 AM, on The Herald
No surprises here - the slightest hint of any measure of performance, and the accountability that follows is enough to send the Teacher's Federation into a frenzy. They carry on like this and wonder why anyone who can afford it moves their kids into private schooling. Sure, there are some awesome public schools - but these occur mroe by accident than design, and the removal of a few key staff members can reduce them to mediocrity. Who wants their child's education to be subject to a lottery? Only the people who don't care enough to read to their children in the first place - and they are unlikely to read league tables....
Posted by Scott Hillard, 20/01/2010 7:47:43 AM, on The Herald
The purposes of such testing should be to allow teachers to interpret each students individual test results to determine students level of competence, allowing the teacher to develop tailored teaching approaches to meet the needs of each individual in their class. The test score then becomes a starting point for teachers rather than an end point of assessment. Any plans to use it for any other purpose or publicly disseminate the information are misguided and totally inappropriate. I support the teachers’ actions. The whole aim should be for teachers to use data to construct tailored ‘learning interventions’ for students, according to their ability, nothing else.
Posted by Teacher Supporter, 20/01/2010 8:49:05 AM, on The Herald
Im really not sure on how i feel about this. Ive always believed that it is not about the actual school that your child attends, it depends on the teacher that your child gets each year. There is good and bad teachers at all schools no matter what location they are in or whether they are considered a disadvantaged school. I think the best thing we can do is be aware of our childs education and if you are not happy with the teacher request your child change class, if that is not possible then get your child tutored and pray that they get a better one next year. i dont think publishing the results for the schools is the answer.
Posted by sb, 20/01/2010 8:51:02 AM, on The Herald
Whining teachers! I wish I had just had 6 weeks paid leave, with weeks more to come during the coming year!
Posted by Jacinta, 20/01/2010 11:19:04 AM, on The Herald
Its time these teachers starting working like the rest of us have to. Four weeks paid annual leave, eight days sick leave, promotions and salary reviews based on individual performance, and work as directed by their employers. End of term holidays are for students, not for teachers to head for the Gold Coast or the snow. Teachers should be at the school during these breaks for child minding - parents do not have the luxury of additional paid vacations.
Posted by Oziebill, 20/01/2010 3:13:08 PM, on The Herald
This opposition is a farce. I spent twenty-two years in primary schools, fourteen as a principal in schools in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Teachers are the only group of 'professionals' that have no internal review system on their performance. It is about time parents and tax-payers have some first-hand data on how teachers perform with their students. Schools with poor results are known already. That is not the issue. Sadly the teachers' union lives in its own world where it regulates who does what. System administrators, parents and the community at large are totally disenfranchised from the quality in education debate. Teachers in their own classrooms and throughout the 'profession' dictate the parameters of quality. It is about time teachers became really accountable for what they do to others outside their union. As a guess, 60% of teachers are brilliant, 25 operate at an acceptable level and 15 are useless. It is the 15 % and part of the 25% that need to be weeded out. My idea: bring in the tests, review ALL teacher performance, remove the low performers and bring in performance pay.
Posted by Peter, 20/01/2010 3:28:05 PM, on The Herald
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