Fed: Gillard agrees to talk to union over My School tests

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2010
Fed: Gillard agrees to talk to union over My School tests

EDS: THIS STORY IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL AFTER 0001 (AEST) ON SATURDAY, APRIL 24



By Bonny Symons-Brown

CANBERRA, April 24 AAP - Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard has offered to meet
with a teachers' union in hopes of heading off a threatened boycott of national literacy
and numeracy tests.

The Australian Education Union's (AEU) executive last week voted to boycott the tests,
due to be handed out next month, which inform the federal government's My School website.

It compares schools' literacy and numeracy scores with the results of statistically
similar institutions, and to the national average.

Representing thousands of public school teachers around the country, the AEU believes
the website is being used to create league tables that unfairly stigmatise underperforming
schools.

It also wants My School to publish more meaningful, accurate information, but in a
letter to the union - obtained by AAP on Saturday - Ms Gillard refused to negotiate on
the website's contents.

"I will however make myself available to speak with the full executive of the AEU to
discuss why a ban on (the) tests would be destructive," she wrote earlier this week.

"I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the significant benefits of having (national
literacy and numeracy) information on the My School website."

Ms Gillard said details of school income, resources and parental satisfaction would
all be added to the website eventually.

However, tracking academic performances over time would be possible only if the literacy
and numeracy tests were given to students in May.

The government is already putting plans in place so the tests may go ahead even if
the AEU refuses to back down.

AAP bsb/sb/jl/apm

KEYWORD: SCHOOLS (EMBARGOED)

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