NAPLAN tests are a very useful tool for teachers and schools in guiding the development of teaching programs for literacy and numeracy, but not for for comparing students or schools, writes David Hardie.
Education
What makes a great teacher?
An apt analysis from The Atlantic, given the local flap about ranking schools and educators: what traits set apart the Susan Kennedys and Mr Chips from the Mrs Krabapples and Mr Gs? US researchers say they’ve nailed it down.
My School gets an F
The government’s new My School website went live this morning — and promptly fell down like the roof of a 20-year-old portable classroom. But that hasn’t stopped the pundits weighing in…
NAPLAN tests and My School: one size doesn’t fit all
The information on the Government’s My School website will only offer flawed data based on a useless test, writes Trevor Diogenes.
A principal’s defence of league tables
Although educators are right to be concerned about the government’s new My School website, it will also offer great opportunities for them improve student performance, writes the principal of exclusive Sydney private school The King’s School, Tim Hawkes.
revealed 
Australian unis infiltrated by organised crime?
The Oz has its hands on a confidential government report that reveals overseas organised crime outfits are attempting to “shoehorn illegal migrants into the country as fee-paying students” via student visas.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Getting a rise out of sea levels
Crikey readers weigh in on the IPCC report on global warming and rising sea levels, the state of the economy and the Australian Education Union.
Talking ’bout a failed international revolution
Julia Gillard wants to bring in leagues tables for Australian schools, just like in the US and England. Too bad the US and English evidence based educated systems have been a disaster, writes Kevin Donnelly.
Teachers vs. the test
The use of national literacy and numeracy tests to create league tables for Australian schools is dividing educators and the nation. Crikey wraps this morning’s media coverage.
The case against school veggie gardens
Memo, Stephanie Alexander: setting up veggie patches in poor schools may teach kids what organic rocket tastes like, but it won’t teach them to read or help them get a job. More algebra, less arugula says Caitlin Flanagan.
The top 10 jobs of 2010
2010 should be a boom year for Australian businesses across the board, with job opportunities for uni graduates set to grow. Smart Company names the industries that will lead the charge and the courses that will put you in ahead of the pack.
Students’ broad-brush approach paints wrong picture
It is the responsibility of student organisations to promote an inclusive and open environment and realise that angry “kill 10 birds with one stone” protests are not always the most productive, writes Matthew Incerti.
Why don’t teachers send their kids to public schools?
Studies have found that Sydney school teachers are less likely to send their children to government schools than the average parent, reports Andrew Leigh. Is hope fading for the public system when even educators won’t support it?
Mass exodus at VCA as music staff exit stage left
The Victorian College of the Arts’ music school is facing a troubled Christmas after 20% of its academic staff opted for early retirement in the wake of controversial changes to the institution, writes Andrew Crook.
Why I resigned from Melbourne Uni Council
Tammi Jonas explains why she resigned from the University of Melbourne Council, after she was asked to teach a seminar for free despite having been paid in the past.
Leaked email: Teach for free? Melbourne uni councillor calls it quits
PhD candidate in cultural studies Tammi Jonas details her decision to resign from the Melbourne University Council because of the “outrageous, unethical decisions being made by Melbourne University”.
How I live as a homeless uni student
Duke University student Ken Ilgunas found one way of avoiding the crippling student loans facing most US students: secretly live in a van on campus, shower at the gym and cook in the car. Is this the future of the undergrad?
VCA accidentally leaks its own website attacking critics
The Victorian College of the Arts has thrown an independent review on the institution’s future into chaos by inadvertently publishing an attack on its critics on a leaked website.
Asking some big questions on school league tables
Is it good for Australian society if schools compete for students on the basis of academic performance and standardised exams? asks James Farrell. Will parents actually be more informed, or just more obsessed with test scores?
Work hard for permanent residency? Why bother?
An anonymous reader lets exposes the second-rate hospitality training given to international students hoping to gain permanent residency in Australia.
Melbourne Muddle: elite students turning away from law in droves
Elite students are turning away from the once-prestigious Melbourne University law school in droves, shunning the Melbourne Model in favour of not only long-time rival Monash, but also RMIT and Deakin University.
Illegal: SMH breaks school league table ban
The Sydney Morning Herald says it’s breaching NSW state law today and risking a $55,000 fine by publishing this article comparing the test results of three Sydney high schools, challenging what it says is an “absurd” ban on giving parents information about the schools childrens’ schools. Subversive or sensationalism?
Late-night missive fuels fight over faculty finances at Melbourne
The former dean of arts at The University of Melbourne, Professor Stuart Macintyre, has launched an extraordinary attack on his predecessor, Professor Mark Considine, accusing him of deliberately misrepresenting the state of the faculty’s finances, writes Andrew Crook.
Sexual consent, Sydney University and me
The current and former students of Sydney Uni’s St Paul’s College responsible for a “pro-rape” Facebook page deserve to be named and shamed; but don’t blame St Paul’s for the actions of a few.
How university colleges foster a culture of rape
News that students living at Sydney Uni’s all-male St Paul’s College set up a “pro-rape” Facebook page doesn’t come as a shock to former college residents like Mary Gardiner — “rape culture” is endemic within the hallowed institutions.
