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ALTHOUGH the controversy about NAPLAN testing has aired the pros and cons of public data on student and school performance, the tests’ potential to reveal differences among state education systems hasn’t appeared on the radar. In Inside Story, Chris Bonnor has highlighted the value of the My School website and NAPLAN testing in opening up new angles of enquiry such as differences among types of schools around the country – so why not also tease out the differences among states? Just as teachers place the greatest value on the tests’ diagnostic use, education policy-makers should be using these and other data for system diagnosis.
The COAG Reform Council’s analysis of 2008 NAPLAN results throws up a conundrum. The state that holds most strongly to traditional education conventions comes out in front of, or at least is neck and neck with, the state that has the stellar international reputation for reform. Yes, it’s the familiar New South Wales versus Victoria story, but with a twist. While commentators have a field day denigrating the NSW public sector and its drag on the national economy, a closer look shows that the state excels in school education, but without the suite of characteristics that are usually touted as essential in a high-performing system.
Could we be missing something of value on our own doorstep? The chair of the Productivity Commission, Gary Banks, seems already to have ruled out any insights from the success of New South Wales. In a speech on “Advancing Australia’s Human Capital Agenda” last month he argued...
