Reporting and Comparing School Performances

Geoff N. Masters, ACER
Glenn Rowley, ACER
John Ainley, ACER
Siek Toon Khoo, ACER

Article comments

Paper prepared for the MCEETYA Expert Working Group to provide advice on national schools data collection and reporting for school evaluation, accountability and resource allocation. Commissioned by the Reporting and Accountability Branch, National Education Systems Group, Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Abstract

This report provides advice on the collection and reporting of information about the performances of Australian schools. The focus is on the collection of nationally comparable data. Two purposes are envisaged: use by education authorities and governments to monitor school performances and, in particular, to identify schools that are performing unusually well or unusually poorly given their circumstances; and use by parents/caregivers and the public to make informed judgements about, and meaningful comparisons of, schools and their offerings. Our advice is based on a review of recent Australian and international research and experience in reporting on the performances of schools. This is an area of educational practice in which there have been many recent developments, much debate and a growing body of relevant research.