New publications

This publication reports on financial assistance granted to each State, under the terms of the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004. The report provides a detailed breakdown of expenditure from funds provided under the Act and briefly outlines how funds have been allocated in line with the Commonwealth programs for schools. All Government and non-Government schools are listed, along with details of financial support provided through general recurrent, capital grants and Investing in Our Schools program grants made by the Australian Government. Other programs to improve learning outcomes for educationally disadvantaged students introduced throughout 2005 are mentioned, including the Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs program; non-Government School Term Hostels program (NGSTH) and the English as a Second Language (ESL): New Arrivals program, Country Areas program (CAP) and the School Languages program (SLP).

The Report on Government Services, now in its twelfth edition, is a tool for government that has been used for strategic budget and policy planning, and for policy evaluation. Information in the Report has been used to assess the resource needs and resource performance of departments. Chapter Three focuses on performance information for government-funded school education in Australia. Reporting relates to government funding only, not to the full cost to the community of providing school education. Descriptive information and performance indicators are reported for government and non-government primary and secondary schools. This year, the chapter has been enhanced by including nationally comparable learning outcomes data for Year 4 and Year 8 students achieving at or above the intermediate international level in science achievement, 2002–03; Year 4 and Year 8 students achieving at or above the intermediate international level in mathematics achievement, 2002–03; and Year 6 and Year 10 civics and citizenship performance, 2004. Section 3.1 contains a profile of school education in Australia, and provides the context for assessing performance indicators in the subsequent sections. Section 3.2 describes the framework of performance indicators for school education, and section 3.3 presents and discusses the available data relating to this framework. In section 3.4, future directions in the development and reporting of performance indicators for school education are discussed. The chapter includes jurisdictions’ comments in section 3.5. (Adapted from Introduction and Chapter Three. See also media release 31 January 2007, and fact sheets).

The authors of this book believe that relying on test scores to judge teacher performance tends to be unfair and ineffective. They suggest alternative measures for monitoring teachers' contributions to student learning, using the examples provided by four schools in the USA. The measures discussed include comparing the quality of student work to the outcomes specified by the teacher; considering students’ learning progress relative to previous years; and considering students' knowledge during pre- and post-instruction assessments. Appendices include rubrics and practical ways for schools to adapt the methodologies to their specific needs. (Adapted from publisher's description, which also links to sample chapters online.)

The Australian Government’s regulations to the Schools Assistance (Learning Together – Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 require that school authorities implement common national tests in numeracy and literacy. These regulations have implications for State and Territory testing programs. Consequently, in 2005 the New South Wales Education Minister, Ms Carmel Tebbutt, initiated a review of the State’s assessment program, to determine which components operate most effectively, whether reforms are necessary and how to maintain the integrity of local assessment and testing programs while accommodating the provisions of the 2004 Act. This report commences with an overview of the national scene and the current New South Wales testing program, followed by the results of a survey of New South Wales schools designed to determine how data from statewide tests are being used by parents and schools and whether data from these tests can lead to improved teaching and learning. The national assessment program is then evaluated to determine the extent to which the proposed national tests can achieve the twin goals of accountability and school improvement. This report concludes with an analysis of the implications of the national tests on the existing New South Wales assessment program, and presents an assessment framework for New South Wales schools. (Adapted from Executive Summary)