Media statement  in response to  the article by Tanya Chilcott on the Courier-Mail website  regarding  the  "Primary Schools Report"  which appeared in the Courier Mail on 23 May 2009.

The Courier-Mail research contained in this supplement relies on the very poorly based assumption that a student and a school's academic performance can be measured by a simple point in time literacy and numeracy test.  Further, the information in this supplement is at least two years old which, even if believed to be useful, could be misconstrued as a school's current performance.

This once again demonstrates an incredible lack of knowledge from The Courier-Mail in its understanding of the educational and assessment practices currently operating in schools. 

The QTU believes that the information contained in this report is meaningless unless accompanied by a full disclosure of :

•  relative resourcing levels betweens schools and systems;
•  physical, environmental, geographical, social and student background factors affecting the make-up of the school;
• differences between enrolment restrictions and cancellation of enrolment conditions in the various schools;
• the conditions under which the tests were administered and collated; and
• a summary of the remaining 99% of assessment items that students undertake in the school.

The reality is that many of the schools who will be named and shamed in The Courier-Mail blame game as not reaching perceived benchmark figures will have outperformed many of the so-called better performing schools in that these tests measure only one small aspect of a school's performance.

Without the great work being performed by teachers in a number of these schools the failure to reach benchmark figures would be much greater.  It is natural to expect that those schools in catchment areas attracting the more fortunate in our communities will have fewer students failing to meet the benchmarks.

The most unfortunate aspect of this Courier- Mail "game" is the inference placed in front of parents that they should consider this information when selecting a school for their son/daughter.  A media outlet indulging in this process is exhibiting traits of irresponsibility in the extreme, bordering on deliberate fraud.

Steve Ryan
QTU President