My School Working Party established
The AEU is participating on the My School Working Party in good faith and expects that the advice of the profession aimed at addressing concerns with the misuse of student data and league tables will be respected and acted upon by ACARA and Ministers.
The establishment of the My School Working Party, and the terms upon which it was established was the basis upon which the AEU lifted the moratorium on the administration of NAPLAN tests last month.
As stated in correspondence by the Deputy Prime Minister to the AEU, the role of the working party is to provide advice on the use of student performance data and other indicators of school effectiveness. That advice, and the further development of the My School website by ACARA, will be in line with the commitments of the Federal Government which include "an opposition to the misuse of student performance data including simplistic league tables".
The AEU has sought the support of a number of leading and prominent academics and researchers to provide advice on matters that will be the subject of deliberation by the My School Working Party. Prof Alan Reid, Prof Brian Caldwell, Prof Allan Luke, Barbara Preston, and Associate Professor Margaret Wu have agreed to form an "expert panel".
The My School Working Party composition has been determined and will hold its first meeting next week on Thursday 17th June. The group will consist of 1 representative from each of the following:
AEU (Australian Education Union)
IEU (Independent Education Union)
APPA (Australian Primary Principals Association)
ASPA (Australian Secondary Principals Association)
Non-Government Primary Principals Association
ASEPA (Australian Special Education Principals Association)
ACSSO (Australian Council State School Organisations) (Parents)
The group will include four literacy and numeracy experts.
AEU Federal Executive has nominated Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos to represent the AEU.
The Working Party will report to ACARA and the Federal, State & Territory Ministers by 27th August.
How can you help?
While much of the negotiating for an improved My School website that contains the widest possible range of contextual data on schools will happen at the Federal level, AEU members on the ground still have an important role to play. To support the campaign we need you to tell people why the My School website needs to be improved and why league tables are bad for students, schools and communities. You can do this by:
- Having conversations with parents in your school community
- Writing letters to the editors of newspapers
- Writing to our speaking in person with your local Federal MP
- Calling public and commercial talkback radio
Follow this link for a list of media outlets you can contact.