EducationNews.org

1) Kevin, recent events in Australia have caused some commotion. Tell us a bit about it.

In Australia, the left-of-centre Commonwealth Government, led by Kevin Rudd, has released a policy forcing schools to be more publicly accountable by making them release performance details.Sounding very much like an education conservative, the Prime Minister argues that parents have the right to know how well their child's school performs in relation to other 'like' schools, that is, schools with a similar socio-economic profile.While not going as far as having league tables, as occurs in England, the PM says the best way to overcome educational disadvantage is to tie increased funding to results.Much of the PM's agenda copies the previous conservative governments accountability initiatives and events in the US like No Child Left Behind.

2) On the one hand, parents, and society want our students to learn a good deal of material and information and skills as they pass through the school system. On the other hand, too much testing can result in "teaching to the test" and a hatred of school on the part of students. How can your educational system and in fact, all educational systems walk this thin line?

For many years, educational success in Australia was measured by how much money was invested, more recently the pendulum has swung towards measuring and evaluating outcomes – especially, how successful schools are in raising standards.Literacy and numeracy testing now occurs nationwide at years 3, 5, 7 and 9 and there is a good deal of political pressure to identify under-performing schools, give them additional support and resources and then, if they fail to improve, impose sanctions.Too much testing distorts the curriculum and is counter-productive.There is also the need to move beyond testing the basics to evaluating what schools achieve in a broader sense.

3) Publishing the results of testing in the newspapers is pretty much common practice here in the States. There seems to be some opposition to it in Australia, however. Why do you think this is so?

Teacher unions and many academics associated with the cultural-Left argue that the best way to raise standards is to spend more – increase investment and give schools more well paid teachers and smaller classes.Such groups also argue that standardized testing distorts the curriculum (it leads to drill and kill) and there is no place for market forces.The argument is that if under-performing schools are identified (called name and shame), then government schools will be seen as second rate and lose students.

4) One issue about testing is the simple issue as to who should be tested- should the schools be testing children with mental retardation, kids who are either deaf or blind, kids with autism, children with learning disabilities and the like. What is your position on this?

Testing needs to be balanced and fair.I taught for 18 years, and I know that while teacher quality is vital, there are also factors outside the control of teachers that can impact on results.Home background, socio-economic factors, language ability and whether children have special needs all influence outcomes.Teachers should not be held accountable for factors that influence performance, over which they have no control.

5) In a sense, forcing children to take tests, does ensure that material will be learned. Do most children need this type of "feet to the fire" approach or can the majority of students be trusted to learn independently?

When learning to drive a car, and before sitting for a license test, you have to rote learn information and skills until they become automatic.This is a bit like learning the basics, especially during the early years, when memorization and rote learning are essential, before going on to more creative, higher order knowledge and skills.I believe that a bit of pressure and telling children that they have passed or failed a test is a good thing.

6) Somebody is making a lot of money constructing tests, scoring tests, and printing out all of that paper. What is going on in Australia in terms of this issue?

One of Australia's main testing bodies is the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and it makes a lot of money out of testing – obviously, those associated with the ACER argue that testing is good and, in fact, that the more tests we have the better!Not everything in education that is worthwhile can be tested and some tests, like multiple choice, are limited in what they achieve.

7) Although I have been to Sydney, I have not extensively visited your schools and know little of the statistics regarding children with exceptionalities or special needs. Could you provide an approximate number of students with physical and educational handicaps?

Unfortunately, I do not have the information related to how many students suffer disability.Historically, in Australia, the emphasis has been on disadvantage in terms of under-performance, I would argue that high achieving students also need to be recognized and given additional support.

8) While politicians talk about more and more testing, none of these individuals seems to talk about lengthening the school day or school year. Why do your leaders not examine or explore the need to possible provide a longer day or school year?

I understand that in some states in the US, social progression has been removed and students who fail to meet the grade have to attend additional classes orsummer school.In my view, under-performance should be picked up as early as possible and children should be given additional teaching time – lengthening the school year is a good idea.

9) What question have I neglected to ask?

Australia, like most countries, has experienced a good deal of curriculum change and renewal.Many teachers are exhausted as a result of the rate of change and the increasing demands being put on them – especially, by the media and politicians.Calls for increased accountability need to take into account the needs of teachers and the realities of the classroom.I'd also argue that if schools are going to be held accountable, they need to be given the autonomy and flexibility to get on with the job – charter schools and vouchers are the way to go.

Published September 3, 2008