ACT issues – Page 5 – SOS Australia

A High School Plan for the Well-Off

Trevor Cobbold / May 26, 2011May 3, 2020 / ACT issues

The new plan for Canberra’s government secondary schools will provide a second class education for the less well-off. The well-off get more challenging options and pathways. The disadvantaged get more vocational education and at younger ages – oh, they also get another round of rhetoric about engaging students and parents.

The plan is likely to exacerbate the large achievement gap between rich and poor, which is already about the largest in Australia. It is also a step backwards from comprehensive education in government schools. It is likely lead to greater social segregation of students between schools and within schools. Continue reading “A High School Plan for the Well-Off”

Call for Public Inquiry into Deteriorating Education Results in the ACT

sosaustralia / December 8, 2010September 4, 2019 / ACT issues, Media releases

The latest international test results for the ACT are a condemnation of the education record of the Stanhope Government according to Save Our Schools. SOS National Convenor, Trevor Cobbold, said that the results are disastrous and called for an independent public inquiry to establish a new direction in education policy in the ACT.

Shameful School Results Indict the Stanhope Government

Trevor Cobbold / December 8, 2010September 4, 2019 / ACT issues

The latest international test results put the Stanhope Government to shame. The new report of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that education standards are declining and inequity is increasing in the ACT.

The results are disastrous. Average results have fallen and large achievement gaps between rich and poor continue unabated. These results are a grave social injustice and threaten the high skill base on which the local economy depends. They demand a new approach to education policy and funding.

Flynn Welcomes Opportunity to Plan Community Hub

sosaustralia / May 19, 2010September 18, 2019 / ACT issues, School closures

The John Flynn Community Group hopes to work with the ACT Government to develop a masterplan for a childcare centre and sustainable community hub at Flynn following a positive meeting with Disability Housing and Community Services Minister, Joy Burch, last week.

Flynn seeks urgent meeting after Anzac Day shock

sosaustralia / April 27, 2010September 18, 2019 / ACT issues, School closures

Flynn community groups are seeking an urgent meeting with ACT Government ministers following a shock Anzac Day announcement for Flynn Primary School that appears to leave the Flynn community out in the cold again.

Mr. Barr Fiddles the Figures – Yet Again!

sosaustralia / April 6, 2010July 9, 2019 / ACT issues, Media releases

Save Our Schools today accused the ACT Minister for Education, Andrew Barr, of misleading use of school enrolment figures to claim success for school closures. SOS convenor, Trevor Cobbold, said that school census figures published last week clearly show that government school enrolments have declined since 2006 while private school enrolments have increased.

Continue reading “Mr. Barr Fiddles the Figures – Yet Again!”

My School Results Mark the Failure of the Stanhope Govt. on Education

Trevor Cobbold / February 8, 2010September 16, 2019 / ACT issues, Equity in education

The school results published on the My School website are highly misleading as a guide for parents on comparative school quality. Up to 90% of the difference in school test results is explained by differences in student background – socio-economic, gender, ethnicity, Indigenous and students with disabilities. The large part of the variation is explained by differences in the socio-economic composition of schools, even with the flawed measure used by My School.

Parents can also be misled in assuming that their child will be in a ‘better’ class in a high scoring school than in a lower scoring school. The variation in test scores is much greater within schools than between schools. This means that a school with higher scores than another will likely have classes that perform worse than the best classes in the lower achieving school.

Despite its many flaws, however, My School does reveal information about school systems which can be used to hold governments accountable for their education policies.

For the ACT, it marks the comprehensive failure of the education policies of the Stanhope Government. It demonstrates massive achievement gaps between students from rich and poor families that still exist after nearly a decade of the Stanhope Government.

School closure whitewash fails community yet again

sosaustralia / December 23, 2009April 28, 2020 / ACT issues, School closures

The ACT Government’s response to the recommendations from the Assembly Inquiry into school closures is grossly inadequate and as misleading and dishonest as the initial school closure process.

Despite the evidence provided by the community to the Inquiry and, indeed, the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry itself, the Minister still repeats the same false claims made during 2006, even though they are now proven to be false.

In particular, the Minister maintains that the consultation process was genuine and adequate, that small schools are expensive and unviable and so deserved to close, and that the social, educational and financial impacts of closing schools were adequately considered.

The detailed analysis of the school closure process has demonstrated that none of these is true (download analysis here).

Sarah James

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Great reasons to restore heritage schools at Flynn, Tharwa and Hall

sosaustralia / December 13, 2009September 18, 2019 / ACT issues, School closures

The ACT Government has a great opportunity this week to move to restore and open heritage-cited schools at Flynn, Tharwa and Hall in response to new information and community support, according to the Flynn Primary School Parents and Citizens Association.

The ACT Government is expected to make its initial response to the findings of the School Closure Inquiry later this week and Flynn P&C President Roger Nicoll said that the community is hopeful that the Government will respond favourably to new information.

Longer Student Suspensions are Ineffective

Trevor Cobbold / November 6, 2009September 16, 2019 / ACT issues

The ACT Government and the Liberal Opposition want to give principals in government and Catholic schools discretion to suspend students for longer without higher level approval. They ignore extensive research evidence that longer suspensions are ineffective and counter-productive.