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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/12/1055220708893.html
Schools seek university entrance data
By Gerard Noonan, Education Editor
June 13 2003
Private school principals want universities to supply them with their students' Universities Admissions Index, but they are still wary of the information being used to create "league tables" of school performance.
A meeting of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia has called on the Universities Admissions Centre to release UAIs to each school.
But they opposed a move to make UAIs more publicly available through newspapers.
At present the centre makes the admission data available only to individual students. Schools in NSW are prevented by law from gaining access to the UAI data and have to rely on the co-operation and honesty of their year 12 students to call in when they have finished their exams.
David Mumford, president of the heads' association, said the schools sought the information to improve their diagnosis of results.
Mr Mumford said schools did not want to get involved in the publication of league tables. "It's a hot issue, the use by the media of league tables," he said. "In the UK it's become just appalling, with final year school results published like soccer league tables with division one and two and so on. It doesn't help anyone and focuses on just one of the many measures of a school."
The head of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Jenny Allum, said the UAI was a passport for students who intended to undertake further education beyond school.
"Parents, teachers and the educational community have a vital interest in understanding the UAI and helping students to do their best in the UAI stakes," she said.
However there was not even a school representative on the technical committee which was responsible for calculating the UAI, despite the fact that students, parents and schools were expected to accept the outcome.
In Victoria, it was accepted that schools were represented on the equivalent committee.
"Assessment authorities should not demand that schools accept the 'correctness' of an aggregating procedure when they deny schools the information they need to evaluate it," Ms Allum said.
The executive director of the admissions centre, Andrew Stanton, yesterday acknowledged he had received the request from the school principals. "Ultimately it's a decision for the Minister for Education," he said.
Up to eight years ago, the UAI results were made available to schools by the NSW Board of Studies but the government made it illegal for the board or any statutory body from releasing details after newspaper publicity about the Mt Druitt High School class of 1996, which collectively had the weakest results in the state.
The Minister for Education, Andrew Refshauge, said last night he would consider the approach by the schools.
"However I would need to be convinced this information would not be used to compile league tables," he said.
<hr>
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/12/1055220708893.html
Schools seek university entrance data
By Gerard Noonan, Education Editor
June 13 2003
Private school principals want universities to supply them with their students' Universities Admissions Index, but they are still wary of the information being used to create "league tables" of school performance.
A meeting of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia has called on the Universities Admissions Centre to release UAIs to each school.
But they opposed a move to make UAIs more publicly available through newspapers.
At present the centre makes the admission data available only to individual students. Schools in NSW are prevented by law from gaining access to the UAI data and have to rely on the co-operation and honesty of their year 12 students to call in when they have finished their exams.
David Mumford, president of the heads' association, said the schools sought the information to improve their diagnosis of results.
Mr Mumford said schools did not want to get involved in the publication of league tables. "It's a hot issue, the use by the media of league tables," he said. "In the UK it's become just appalling, with final year school results published like soccer league tables with division one and two and so on. It doesn't help anyone and focuses on just one of the many measures of a school."
The head of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Jenny Allum, said the UAI was a passport for students who intended to undertake further education beyond school.
"Parents, teachers and the educational community have a vital interest in understanding the UAI and helping students to do their best in the UAI stakes," she said.
However there was not even a school representative on the technical committee which was responsible for calculating the UAI, despite the fact that students, parents and schools were expected to accept the outcome.
In Victoria, it was accepted that schools were represented on the equivalent committee.
"Assessment authorities should not demand that schools accept the 'correctness' of an aggregating procedure when they deny schools the information they need to evaluate it," Ms Allum said.
The executive director of the admissions centre, Andrew Stanton, yesterday acknowledged he had received the request from the school principals. "Ultimately it's a decision for the Minister for Education," he said.
Up to eight years ago, the UAI results were made available to schools by the NSW Board of Studies but the government made it illegal for the board or any statutory body from releasing details after newspaper publicity about the Mt Druitt High School class of 1996, which collectively had the weakest results in the state.
The Minister for Education, Andrew Refshauge, said last night he would consider the approach by the schools.
"However I would need to be convinced this information would not be used to compile league tables," he said.
