2010/04: Is the My School Internet site a good idea?

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2010/04: Is the My School Internet site a good idea?

What they said...
'Yes, I expect that there will be difficult moments - for governments, for schools, for me.
But ultimately I welcome those difficult moments too - because they will mean that those of us with responsibility for the quality of children's education in this country - the adults - will be challenged about whether, collectively, we are doing a good enough job and what more we need to be doing.'
Julia Gillard, federal Minister for Education

'This is not the path to school improvement. Students in these schools will be humiliated and demoralised. Students who are humiliated for their learning accomplishments are unlikely to respond positively in their future learning. It makes the task of teachers and schools that much harder'
Save Our Schools education lobby group

The issue at a glance
The My School website was launched on 28 January, 2010, and had over nine million hits on the first day of its operation. This was significantly higher than expected. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has since increased the capacity of the site to handle the very high level of interest.
The website includes a report card for almost 10,000 Australian schools. Each report card provides performance and contextual information about the individual school.

Background

The My School site
School profile: The first page of the school report contains a statement of about 200 words written by the school, setting out its characteristics and values. This page also includes basic facts about the school, including the number of students enrolled, the number of teachers, proportion of indigenous students, attendance rate and, if the school progresses to Year 12, student destination data is also included.
The page also features the school's rating on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), an index developed to account for differences in student backgrounds, such as parental income and education, to more fairly allow schools to be compared. This index is used to form groups of statistically similar schools, featured on a subsequent page, allowing parents to see how their child's school is doing compared to other schools educating children like theirs.

NAPLAN information: A table displays the school's average results in NAPLAN (National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy), conducted in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The results for the first two years of the tests, 2008 and 2009, are shown in each of the five areas tested: reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
The table of NAPLAN results is coloured to show at a glance whether the school is performing above or below similar schools and the national average. A green bar indicates the school is performing above and red indicates below. The more intense the colour, the more significant the difference, with a white bar indicating no significant difference.

Similar schools: The third page lists 60 statistically similar schools to your school, with a link to the report for each school in the group. The schools are selected according to their ICSEA scores, with the group comprising the 30 schools above and 30 schools below your school. Every school is therefore in its own group of 60 schools. The schools are not necessarily in the same area or even state as the initial school but can be anywhere across the nation.
The schools are listed alphabetically but the group listing includes the average NAPLAN result across all areas tested in each year, colour coded to show at a glance if the school is performing above or below statistically similar schools. Scores coloured purple indicate your school is performing below similar schools while orange indicates your school is performing above similar schools.

Internet information
The My School Internet site can be found at http://www.myschool.edu.au/

On November 12, 2009, Julia Gillard, Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion delivered an address to the Eidos Institute titled,'Accountable Government, Accountable Communities:The role of transparency in education reform'. This speech is a powerful statement of the role the Minister and her government believe full information on student outcomes has to play in radically improving the way in which education is delivered in Australia. The full text of this speech can be read at http://www.appa.asn.au/images/news/speechgillardeidos20091112.pdf
Please note this is a pdf file and can only be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

On January 15, 2010, the Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece written by Dr Kevin Donnelly, the author of 'Australia's Education Revolution: How Kevin Rudd Won and Lost the Education Wars' and director of the Education Standards Institute (ESI). Dr Donnelly argued that there are so many potential problems with the test data upon which My School relies that its use is fraught with problems. He also criticises British and United States' use of standardised testing to drive student improvement, arguing that growth has 'flat-lined'. The full text of this opinion piece can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/contributors/i-was-wrong-on-league-tables-for-schools-20100115-mbq5.html

On January 27, 2010, The Sydney Morning Herald published a series of letters from principals and teachers giving their view of My School. The full text of these letters can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/remove-yourself-from-my-class-ms-gillard-20100126-mw8k.htm

On January 27, 2010, The Courier Mail published an editorial titled 'Schools should be accountable'. The editorial is followed by a number of reader comments giving opinions on the issue. The full text of the editorial can be found at http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/schools-should-be-accountable/story-e6frerd6-1225824090993

On January 28, 2010, the ABC ran a news report titled, 'My School site "can be used for league tables"'. The report included the views of a number of school principals that the newly set up site could be used to source data for the production of the ill-regarded 'league tables'. The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/28/2803406.htm

On January 28, 2010, The Sydney Morning Herald published an opinion piece by Professor Barry McGaw, chairman of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority which oversees the generation of the data used on the My School Internet site. Professor McGaw defends the validity of the data supplied on the Internet site and suggests how it can be used in conjunction with a national curriculum to ensure a wide and effective education for all Australian students.
The full text of this opinion piece can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/my-school-site-brings-fair-comparisons-20100127-mz0x.html
The opinion piece is followed by a number of reader comments, some in agreement with Professor McGaw, some opposed.

On January 29, 2010, the day after the launch of the My School Internet site, the education lobby group Save Our Schools issued a media release titled, 'My School Comparisons Expose Hypocrisy of PM and Gillard'. The media release claims that the My School site allows for exactly the sort of simplistic comparison of schools which the federal government has claimed it was seeking to avoid.
The full text of the Save Our Schools media release can be found at http://www.saveourschools.com.au/media-releases/medi-release-29-january-2010-my-school-comparisons-expose-hypocrisy-of-pm-and-gillard

On February 7, 2010, the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, issued a media release indicating that a further eleven million dollars would be directed to 110 schools which My School data indicated were struggling. The Minister has indicated that this is only part of the federal government's guarantee that no Australian school will be left behind and that data will be used to prompt school improvement.
The full text of the media release can be found at http://www.deewr.gov.au/Ministers/Gillard/Media/Releases/Pages/Article_100208_084053.aspx

On February 16, 2010, the Australian Union of Students (AEU) issued a media release calling on the federal government to take action to stop private companies selling 'league tables'. The full text of the media release can be found at http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Media/MediaReleases/2010/1602.pdf
Please note, this is a pdf file and can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Arguments in favour of the My School Internet site
1. Parents and students are entitled to this information
The federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, has repeatedly noted the importance of parents receiving full and detailed information about the progress of the schools educating their children. On April 17, 2009, the Minister stated in a press conference in relation to My School, 'We've ... taken a big step forward in the agenda of transparency as to what's happening in our schools. We want Australian parents and members of the community, who care desperately about the quality of school education, to have reliable, clear information about what is happening in schools and to be able to compare schools in similar circumstances. We are committed to publishing that information, to having it available...'
On January 27, 2010, the day before the My School site was launched, the Minister issued a media release in which she stated, 'From tomorrow morning, all Australian parents, teachers and school communities will have access to comprehensive information on every school in the country through the new My School website.
My School will give parents and the wider community more information than they have ever had before about their local school and how it is performing in the foundation subjects of literacy and numeracy.
My School will contain a school report card on the almost 10 000 government, independent and Catholic schools across Australia.'
The Minister then issued a later media release stating, 'My School delivers more information about our schools than parents and the nation have ever had before and will help drive further improvements to Australia's education system.
Together with record investment in school infrastructure and a new National Curriculum, this new era of transparency will deliver an Education Revolution to all Australian schools.'

2. The data will be used to assist struggling schools
The federal government has claimed the data from the My School site will be used to assist schools that are struggling, not to promote prejudice against them.
In a media release published on February 7, 2010, it was stated, 'The Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today announced that an additional 110 struggling schools will share in $11 million in extra funding designed to ensure students improve their literacy and numeracy.
The Rudd Government has identified the schools that would have missed out on a share of the $2.5 billion Smarter Schools National Partnerships were it not for the additional information on the My Schools web site.
The 110 schools include those that have results that are below or substantially below (light and dark red on the My School website) both the national average and those for statistically similar schools in all areas on the NAPLAN national tests.
The schools are from a variety of areas including county and inner city and a variety of socio-economic areas. They include schools from the Government, Catholic and independent sectors.
Ms Gillard said that this is an example of the Rudd Government using the information now available to every parent on My School to direct funding so that those schools who are struggling can be given a helping hand and so students aren't left behind.'

3. The data will make schools and governments more accountable
The federal government has repeatedly claimed that the publication of school data will make schools and governments more responsible for student performance. According to this line of argument, when under-performance is publicly recognised individual schools and governments are likely to feel a stronger imperative to take action which will remedy the situation.
In a speech delivered in Brisbane on November 12, 2009, the federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, stated, 'ultimately, we are accountable - as politicians, as public servants, as educators - to the public.
It may cause painful moments, if this information brings into the public spotlight school performance that cannot be explained or justified. But surely even that is better than allowing such performance to continue unchallenged or unnoticed because there is not enough accountability.'
In her conclusion to the same speech, the Minister stated, 'So yes, I expect the passionate debate to continue. I welcome it.
Yes I expect controversy and claims of unfairness. Yes I expect that there will be difficult moments - for governments, for schools, for me.
But ultimately I welcome those difficult moments too - because they will mean that those of us with responsibility for the quality of children's education in this country - the adults - will be challenged about whether, collectively, we are doing a good enough job and what more we need to be doing.'

4. The data is not intended for the simplistic ranking of schools
The federal government has stated that the data contained on the My School site is not intended for the construction of league tables. This information has not been supplied for the simplistic ranking of schools and the information has been presented in a way intended to discourage this.
Some critics of the reforms argue that the information should not be published because they could lead to league tables of schools.
In a speech delivered in Brisbane on November 12, 2009, the federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, stated, 'I have always argued that tables ranking schools by their raw academic results are simplistic and unhelpful.
That is why, on the My School website, the information about individual schools is provided in the context of other schools serving students and communities that are genuinely comparable.
That means using the best possible evidence and the best possible data to analyse the background factors which we know do have an influence on student performance, and grouping schools with others that are comparable.
This is what ACARA, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, has done. The Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage, or ICSEA, reflects 16 different dimensions that the evidence tells us are linked to educational achievement such as the income and highest educational attainment of parents. It provides a basis for meaningful comparison between schools serving similar student populations.'

5. There are measures that can be taken to prevent My School data being used for 'league tables'
Peter Hill, chief executive officer of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) which developed the My School website, has acknowledged that private firms were trying to profit from the data.
Dr Hill has stated, 'We believe there's a danger they could be promoting misleading conclusions to the public and ... they're making money out of this information ... [The authority] does not support the use of NAPLAN data for this purpose.''
ACARA is taking legal advice in relation to the Australia School Ranking website, a private website set up using My School data. The My School website says its content and design is copyright to ACARA. It can only be reproduced for personal, non-commercial educational use.
New South Wales has already taken steps to restrict the circulation of school league tables. The state banned the release of data about school performances in 1997 after a newspaper report about Mount Druitt High School carried the headline 'Class We Failed.'
Last year the State Government overturned the ban, allowing it to give data to the Federal Government for the website. But the Greens and opposition joined forces on an amendment to the legislation, which makes it a criminal offence for newspapers in New South Wales to publish simplistic comparisons of school performances.

6. The data will encourage schools to learn from each other
It has been claimed that the My School data will be used to help identify those schools doing the most to improve outcomes for their students. These schools will then be investigated to determine what it is about their practice which could usefully be taken up by other schools performing less well.
The Education Minister, Julia Gillard, has stated, 'High-performing schools identified by the website will be used to influence new education policy and reform, and best practice measures will be shared with schools that need help.'

Arguments against the My School Internet site
1. The data gives a simplistic picture of school performance
It has been claimed that the data actually encourages simplistic judges about individual schools' performances and simplistic comparisons between schools. It has further been claimed that the My School site does this, despite federal government assurances to the contrary.
On January 29, 2010, the Save Our Schools education lobby group issued a media release in which it stated, 'The Prime Minister and the Federal Education Minister gave assurances that schools would not be unfairly compared; schools would not be "named and shamed"; and that they would not support "simplistic" league tables. My School shows they have failed to deliver on all of these promises. Their assurances are exposed as duplicitous.
The Prime Minister has long said that government schools in disadvantaged areas would not be compared with "likes of Geelong Grammar and the rest" but this is exactly what My School does.
Its local schools webpage compares the results of Geelong Grammar - one of the wealthiest schools in Australia -with government and Catholic schools in Corio and Norlane, which are amongst the most disadvantaged suburbs in Australia. Geelong Grammar has 1% of its students in the bottom quarter of the My School socio-economic index compared to over 90% for many other schools in the area including Corio PS, Corio South PS, Corio West PS, and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School.
This is the kind of "simplistic" and "arbitrary" school comparison that the Prime Minister and the Federal Education Minister say they are opposed to. It is not the only example. My School provides many other unfair comparisons between the most advantaged and disadvantaged schools around Australia.'

2. The data is subject to commercial misuse
I has been claimed that the media and other groups could manipulate the data in a way that damages or misrepresented particular schools or sets of schools.
As an example of this misuse, the ABC reported that New South Wales banned the release of data about school performances in 1997 after a newspaper report about Mount Druitt High School carried the headline 'Class We Failed'.
Similarly, on February 17, 2010, The Age reported that a company was compiling crude school league tables based on data from the My School website and selling them to parents online for $97.
The 'data', which originally included some errors, listed 8000 Australian schools ranked from 'top' to 'bottom' and includes a list of the 'top' and 'bottom' 100 Australian primary and secondary schools, suburbs, attendance rates and highest and lowest growth schools. Schools have been given a score based on an average of their national testing (NAPLAN) results.
Peter Hill, the chief executive officer of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, which developed the My School website, has expressed concern that some private firms were trying to profit from the data.
Mr Hill stated, 'We believe there's a danger they could be promoting misleading conclusions to the public and ... they're making money out of this information ...[The authority] does not support the use of NAPLAN data for this purpose.'

3. The My School data is flawed
It has been claimed that the 'like school' comparisons on the My School website are flawed because they do not actually compare the test results of schools having similar socio-economic student populations.
It has been argued that My School's measure of the socio-economic status (SES) of schools is systematically biased in a way that favours private schools in comparing their results with so-called 'like' government schools.
My School tends to under-estimate the SES of private schools that draw enrolments from high SES families living in lower SES areas. It also tends to over-estimate the SES of government schools because high SES families resident in their area tend to choose private schools. This is because it ignores the fact that many government schools lose their best students to private schools. Thus, though a government and private school may appear to be drawing their students from the same socio-economic grouping the private school has the self-selecting 'best' students from among this pool.
It has also been noted that the SES of international students, who generally attend private schools is not included in the data. It has been suggested that this also works to the advantage of private schools as a majority of these students come from wealthy, well-educated families.

4. The data could harm schools that are already struggling
It has been claimed that the data from the My School site can be used to assemble 'league tables', rankings of schools which list best to worse performances. The Australian Education Union (AEU) has repeatedly argued that such listings are very damaging for poorly performing schools, harming the total school community.
On its federal Internet site, the AEU has stated, 'League tables which rank schools based on raw test scores are bad for students, schools and education.
Naming and shaming schools that don't get high marks in the tests is devastating for those school communities and makes it much harder for students and teachers.
Already in 2010 newspapers in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and the Northern Territory have published damaging league tables using data from the My School website.
The Education Minister Julia Gillard says league tables are misleading and make the job of teachers harder, but so far she has refused to act.'
On January 29, 2010, the Save Our Schools education lobby group issued a media release in which it stated, 'Julia Gillard gave an absolute guarantee that schools would not be 'named and shamed'. Yet, this is precisely what My School does. Schools with the worst results are given a red flag. The red flag signifies danger, don't go there. Why else was the colour red chosen to grade the lowest performing schools, other than to punish them?
Most often it is schools serving the most disadvantaged communities in Australia that are given red flags. These are the schools working in the most difficult of circumstances, yet their reward from the Rudd Government is to be pilloried in public.
This is public shaming of the worst possible kind. By "red flagging" schools, Gillard is aiding and abetting an annual ritual hunt for the worst performing schools around Australia that happens in England and the United States.
This is not the path to school improvement. Students in these schools will be humiliated and demoralised. Students who are humiliated for their learning accomplishments are unlikely to respond positively in their future learning. It makes the task of teachers and schools that much harder.'

5. The information the site contains is already available to parents and governments
It has been claimed that the My School site is essentially a public exposure exercise, rather than an attempt to give governments and parents information. This claim is made because, it is asserted, governments and parents already have access to the information the website contains, but not in the highly public form of a widely known Internet site.
School performance data is already forwarded to state and federal education authorities. The only reason My School could be constructed was because governments already had access to the data.
As Jenny Mace, Bega Teachers' Association counsellor and representative, has noted, 'The Federal Government should already be aware of schools are struggling and under resourced.'
Equally, it has been noted, parents have access to data showing their own son or daughter's performance in NAPLAN tests and to their children's Year 12 performances. They also have access to their children's school's Annual Report. These reports are presented to the School Council. Many schools publish their Annual Reports on their Internet sites.

6. The data could be misused to make judgments about individual students
It has further been claimed that the My School data could be used not only to make judgements about schools, but also about individual students.
According to this line of argument, if browsers use the My School data to make negative judgements about individual schools, they can equally use that data to make judgements about particular students who have or still attend that school. This could be particularly damaging for individual students, especially if these judgements were made by potential employers.

Further implications
It is not possible to deny the very strong initial interest in the My School site. My School ranked as the 28th most visited website by Australian Internet users on 28 January across All Categories and the number three Education website by Australian Internet users.
The Computers and Internet - Search Engines industry delivered 61.4% of upstream traffic to My School in the week of its launch. Search terms containing a variation of My School (including misspellings), accounted for 87.9% of all upstream visits from Search Engines. The high level of branded search terms indicate the PR success and the high level of public awareness of the My School website launch.
However, within five days My School had fallen out of the top 100 websites (ranking 105th on 1 February) as the news and debate subsided, and has since fallen to 860th on 15 February. This may mean that parents and others have had their initial questions answered and will no longer be interested in the same way until new data is available - sometime after May this year when the next round of NAPLAN tests will have been completed.
At this stage it is far too early to say the impact this site will have on schools and on school community expectations. It is possible that the ready availability of this data could arm school communities with the data they need to make specific demands of state and federal governments. It is possible that schools could use this data to improve their performances by learning from each other. It is also possible that irate parents may pressure schools to improve student outcomes. Other possibilities include the fact that some parents may vote with their feet and remove their children from what they consider under-performing schools. Were this to happen, reduced enrolments could lead to reduced funding, reduced staffing and a further decline in performance.
The Australian Education Union (AEU)has been very concerned that the My School data be used sensitively to help schools, not punitively to brand them as failures. It is for this reason that the AEU has urged the federal government to take action to prevent the construction, sale and distribution of school 'league tables' in Australia. To this point the Education Minister, Julia Gillard, while declaring 'league tables' simplistic has given no guarantee that her government will act to prohibit their production. The AEU has claimed that in the absence of such action from the government it will be instructing its members not to take part in the administration of the 2010 NAPLAN tests. It would appear that this debate is by no means over.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
Herald-Sun: January 28, page 31, comment by Julia Gillard, `Website will help, not hinder'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/my-school-website-will-help-not-hinder/story-e6frfhqf-1225824122380

Herald-Sun: January 28, page 30, editorial, `Rank schools to get results'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/editorials/rank-schools-to-get-results/story-e6frfhqo-1225824126663

The Australian: January 28, page 6, news item by Justine Ferrari, `Students' progress to go on website'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/students-progress-to-go-on-website/story-e6frg6nf-1225824141709

The Age: January 28, page 15, comment by Barry McGaw, `My School site brings fair comparisons and valuable lessons'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/my-school-site-brings-fair-comparisons-20100127-mz0x.html

The Age: January 28, page 3, news items by Miki Perkins et al, `Principals angry over web data'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/my-school-site-principals-angry-over-web-data-20100127-myxs.html

The Australian: January 27, page 14, comments by Joel Klein, Ben Jensen, `Julia's revolution should measure up / There's a better way of school appraisal'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/julias-revolution-should-measure-up/story-e6frg6zo-1225823741809
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/theres-a-better-way-of-school-appraisal/story-e6frg6zo-1225823741902

The Australian: January 27, page 1, news item by Justine Ferrari, `My School website data "inaccurate and unfair"'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/my-school-website-data-inaccurate-and-unfair/story-e6frg6nf-1225823772133

The Age: January 27, page 13, comment (on schools information) by Richard Teese, `The transparency myth'.
http://www.aol.com.au/news/story/The-transparency-myth/2420261/index.html

The Age: January 26, page 4, news item by Dan Harrison, `Website to expose "coasting" schools'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/website-to-expose-coasting-schools-20100125-muhr.html

The Australian: January 23, page 3, news item by Natasha Robinson, `Parents slap down union on league tables' (see also page 11 analysis, `Education out on the table').
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/parents-slap-down-union-on-school-league-tables/story-e6frg6nf-1225822685743
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/education-out-on-the-table/story-e6frg6z6-1225822680430

The Australian: January 23, page 11, comment by Peter van Onselen, `Why school league tables will not work'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/why-school-league-tables-will-not-work/story-e6frg6zo-1225822680095

Herald-Sun: January 22, page 54, comment by Rebecca Wilson, `School comparisons turn the tables - in the wrong direction'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/school-comparisons-turn-the-tables-in-the-wrong-direction/story-e6frfhqf-1225822301673

The Age: January 20, page 12, editorial, `A test of schools and governments'. (as printed in the Sydney Morning Herald)
http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/a-test-of-schools-and-governments-20100119-mj2u.html

The Age: January 19, page 3, news item by Dan Harrison, `Teachers to make stand on "ranking"' (see also page 13 cartoon and editorial, `Top of the class for selfishness').
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/teachers-to-make-stand-on-ranking-20100118-mgoq.html

The Australian: January 13, page 1, editorial, `Top of the class for selfishness'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/top-of-the-class-for-selfishness/story-e6frg71x-1225821003248

The Australian: February 4, page 5, news item by Justine Ferrari, `My School statistics give "flawed" picture'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/my-school-statistics-give-flawed-picture/story-e6frg6nf-1225826526522

The Australian: February 3, page 12, comment by Janet Albrechtsen, `Carry on with this revolution, Julia'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/carry-on-with-this-revolution-julia/story-e6frg6zo-1225826084079

Herald-Sun: February 1, page 9, news item by Philip Hudson, `Teacher scorecards'.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/teacher-scorecards/story-e6frf7kx-1225825276790

The Australian: February 1, page 15, comment by Christopher Bantick, `Poor teachers, poor results'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/poor-teachers-poor-results/story-e6frg6zo-1225825236708

The Australian: February 1, page 5, news item by Samantha Maiden, `PM promises more on schools site'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/pm-kevin-rudd-promises-more-on-schools-site/story-e6frgczf-1225825238080

The Age: February 1, page 12, analysis by Caroline Milburn, `Schools open a "window"'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/schools-open-a-window-20100131-n6df.html

The Age: February 1, page 1, news item by Michelle Grattan, `Rudd poll pledge to survey parents' attitudes to schools'.
http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=nstore&kw=bullying&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=3months&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=150&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE100201I048K7N62HH

The Australian: January 30, page 15, editorial, `A victory for everybody who believes in education'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/a-victory-for-everybody-who-believes-in-education/story-e6frg71x-1225824865519

The Australian: January 30, page 13, analysis (photos) by Justine Ferrari, `Putting parents in front of the computer'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/putting-parents-in-front-of-the-computer/story-e6frg6zo-1225824858986

The Australian: January 30, page 6, news item by Natasha Bita, `Poor children fare worse at school'.
http://www.optuszoo.com.au/news/90320//poor-children-fare-worse-at-school.html

The Age: January 30, Insight section, page 9, comment (with Spooner cartoon in printed edition) by Shaun Carney, `Slow learners'.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/slow-learners-20100130-n4g0.html

The Age: January 30, page 7, news item by Dan Harrison, `Gillard defends school index, despite its faults'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/gillard-defends-school-index-despite-its-faults-20100129-n46u.html

The Australian: January 29, page 12, comment by Ebru Yaman, `Parents are hungry for information on schools'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/parents-are-hungry-for-information-on-schools/story-e6frg6zo-1225824466914

The Australian: January 29, page 1, news item by Justine Ferrari, `Focus falls on big-fee schools as parents get a reality check' (see also printed edition pages 4-5 photos, items on reaction to MySchool website).
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/focus-falls-on-big-fee-schools-as-parents-get-reality-check/story-e6frg6nf-1225824500085

The Age: January 29, page 12, editorial, `School rankings' untold story is state neglect'.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/school-rankings-untold-story-is-state-neglect/2010/01/28/1264268052164.html

The Age: January 29, page 13, comment by Michelle Grattan, `My School criticism fails test'. (online version has video featuring comments by Minister Julia Gillard)
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/my-school-criticism-fails-test-20100128-n1rm.html?comments=16

The Age: January 29, page 6, comment by Katherine Murphy, `My School increases transparency and opens the way for robust debate'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/my-school-increases-transparency-and-opens-way-for-debate-20100128-n1q5.html

The Age: January 29, page 1, news item (with photos of and comments from students at a private and a public school) by Miki Perkins and Dan Harrison, `Top schools lagging on literacy / A tale of two schools' (see also page 6 photos, items).
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/top-schools-lagging-on-reading-writing-tests-20100128-n1pk.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Tale-of-two-schools/2004/12/13/1102787018674.html

The Australian: February 8, page 4, news item by Samantha Maiden, `$11m "won't fix schools"'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/m-wont-fix-schools/story-e6frg6nf-1225827624277

The Age: February 8, page 6, news item by Miki Perkins, `My School website a "crock", says top educator' (see also page 12 comment by Melbourne High School principal Jeremy Ludowyke, `My School fails the test').
http://www.theage.com.au/national/my-school-website-a-crock-says-top-educator-20100207-nkt2.html
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/why-my-school-fails-the-test-20100207-nk9c.html

The Age: February 8, page 6, news item by Anna Patty, `Website settles school choice'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/website-settles-school-choice-20100207-nkt8.html

The Australian: February 5, page 1, news item by Justine Ferrari, `Students get new subject: the test'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/students-get-new-subject-the-test/story-e6frg6nf-1225826908368

The Age: February 5, page 1, news item (cartoon in printed edition) by Miki Perkins, `Teach for tests, teachers told'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/teach-for-tests-teachers-told-20100204-ng6o.html

The Age: February 14, page 5, news item (ref to calls for testing for the home-schooled student) by Natalie Craig, `School's out when home is the classroom'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/schools-out-when-home-is-the-classroom-20100213-nyiz.html

The Age: February 22, page 13, analysis (photos) by Caroline Milburn, `Your school and My School'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/your-school-and-my-school-20100219-olc5.html

The Australian: February 26, page 14, comment (ref to myschool site and indigenous / Aboriginal education) by Andrew Penfold, `Gillard's schools site should be used to help close the gap'.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gillards-schools-site-should-be-used-to-help-close-the-gap/story-e6frg6zo-1225834524594