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Our Schools
NSWSPC MEDIA RELEASE – January 29th 2010
MY SCHOOL DOESN’T SAY MUCH ABOUT ANY SCHOOL
Secondary school principals across NSW have reacted with a mixture of anger and incredulity at the data released on the My School website.
The President of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, Jim McAlpine, today said that many were angry that schools were compared using tests designed as diagnostic tools for improving the learning of individual students. He said this would inevitably compromise the integrity of the tests in relation to their intended purpose.
He said it was worrying that ACARA and the federal government have hijacked the tests and so strongly linked the results to the effectiveness of each school.
Mr McAlpine said that ACARA, particularly its chairman Professor Barry McGaw, knows very well that 70% of the differences between schools is explained by who they enrol. Parents and students also know that it is nonsense to compare schools without taking into account such things as how students are selected, the ethnic mix, gender balance, school location and size.
Position Paper on The Role, Authority, Leadership and Accountability of the Principal now available in Documents section.
Position Paper on School Accountability, Development and Reporting now available in Documents section.
FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WORK ARTS, ENGLISH AND LITERACY EDUCATION RESEARCH NETWORK THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY and the NSW SECONDARY PRINCIPALS’ COUNCIL
2009 PAUL BROCK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH
Awarded to Geoffrey Walker, English teacher Northern Beaches Secondary College, Balgowlah Boys Campus
Ian James (Head Teacher, English), Michael Coutts-Trotter (Dir-Gen. NSWDET), Dr. Paul Brock, Geoff Walker, Paul Sheather (Rel. Principal, Balgowlah Boys)
Listen to the podcast of the award ceremony by clicking on the green arrow below (right-click here to download):
The purpose of this award is to recognise an outstanding teacher of secondary English in NSW who has a demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching and learning in subject English.
Welcome to the website of the NSW Secondary Principals' Council. We are an incorporated body, representing over 480 principals of government high and central schools across the state. We are advocates for the interests and needs of secondary principals. We provide support for our members, organise professional development activities and offer collegiality to our fellow principals.