The Director-General of the Department of Education and Training, Michael Coutts-Trotter has welcomed the Federal Government’s My School website, but has advised parents to speak to school principals before making decisions about their child’s schooling.
Mr Coutts-Trotter said the data on the My School website did not measure all aspects of education, and that the literacy and numeracy NAPLAN test results used on the site were subject to some margin of error.
Welcome comes with warning
“If you are using My School to choose a school, or assess a school, please, don’t stop there,” he said.
“Call or visit the principal to discuss the school’s achievements, values and plans.
“They can give you a complete picture of what a school is doing – its extracurricular activities, sporting achievements, performing arts, debating, P&C involvement, teacher career development and much, much more.”
Mr Coutts-Trotter said My School provided a snapshot of each school in Australia, including a description of the school, its community, the number of students and teachers and student attendance rates.
However, he said the information provided on the site should be complemented by additional data.
“Through student reports, annual school reports, parent teacher talks, school websites and our own Departmental website, NSW public education provides parents and the community with information that goes well beyond what you will find on the My School site,” Mr Coutts-Trotter said.
He said My School meant that for the first time aspects of the performance of any NSW school could be compared with the average performance of all primary or secondary schools in Australia.
“You can compare schools that are similar to yours - schools where students come from similar backgrounds and live in similar areas, whether it is a bush community or an inner city suburb,” he said.
“This type of comparison continues to put proper pressure on me and everyone else who serves school children.”
He reminded My School users that school results could be affected by student backgrounds, the number of migrants with English as a second language and students with fewer opportunities than others.
Minister for Education, Verity Firth said My School was one of a range of resources available to parents to help them understand how their child and school were performing.
“The website will provide a link to the school’s annual report and parents can also gain information by meeting with the principal, through parent teacher meetings and by talking to people in their community,” Ms Firth said.
The website, www.myschool.edu.au reportedly attracted nine million hits on its first day.
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