Omission is admission: league table website will damage schools

NSW Education Minister Verity Firth and her colleagues are moving to create a website featuring the common test results of all Australian schools.

Commenting on a story in today's Sydney Morning Herald ('Principle has been abandoned, say principals' SMH 13 June 2009), Dr Kaye said: "The omission is an admission of guilt.

"Verity Firth and her federal counterpart Julia Gillard knew that maintaining this key ethical principle would rule out their  website.

"The nation's education ministers have admitted that 'doing no damage' is completely inconsistent with  publishing results on a single website.

"They had no choice but to drop it or abandon their 'name-and-shame' agenda.

"Once the results for all schools sit on one website, data harvesting to produce simplistic league tables is easily within the technological capabilities of many media outlets.

"None of their new protocols will stop it happening.

"The document is full of pious statements of hope, such as suggesting that governments will 'put in place strategies to manage the risk that third parties may seek to produce [simplistic league] league tables or rankings' .

"Managing the risk is a long way from stopping it happen, which the ministers know is beyond their constitutional power.

"The nation's education ministers have now admitted that their website will damage individual schools.

"In NSW annual school reports already provide high quality accountability and allow interested parents to check out every public school in the state," Dr Kaye said.

The Herald story is available here