If test scores are all that is valued then this is an easy measure to access via the MySchool website. However, in education, paying more guarantees more status and prestige but does it guarantee better quality? If it is to dominate the national debate, Australians need to carefully consider how “quality” is measured.Īre NAPLAN results or ATARs true indicators of school quality? Or is it higher fees? In a market system, price is generally viewed as an indicator of quality. “School quality” has become a buzz phrase in recent years. The skills we require of people are changing along with technological advances, so the way we assess students should change too. In this way, standardised tests where students are simply asked to recall information are relics of the last century. Parents expect their children will develop a wide variety of skills during their school years, conscious that the ability to regurgitate information is now the work of search engines. Within any educational system, linking test scores to teacher effectiveness will ultimately result in teaching to the test rather than educating for life or, as Hattie points out, focusing on “surface” learning rather than “deep” learning. However, given the difficulties of attracting funding for long-term evaluations of other measures of success, the relatively quick and easy test score indicators are filling the gap. The value of standardised testing such as PISA is contestable.

System indicators of quality