Government in "a conspiracy of silence"

[brendan]

According to Dr. Ken Boston, one-time Director General of Education in NSW:

"there is a conspiracy of silence . . . and a determination to avoid making public any information which might indicate that one school is more effective than another"

However there are indications that the long night of government secrecy might end soon:

STATE Labor premiers have vowed to give parents more information on how students perform
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/states-move-on-school-reports/2007/09/24/1190486225404.html
http://education.qld.gov.au/publication/production/reports/pdfs/2007/federalist-paper.pdf

Labor plans release of school rankings
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/labor-plans-release-of-school-rankings/2007/06/24/1182623741864.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

SELECTING a school is no easy task. But for Margaret Pledger, choosing the right secondary school for her children was firstly a question of location.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/on-your-mark/2007/06/24/1182623744432.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

'Where is my school's report card?'
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/where-is-my-schools-report-card/2007/10/05/1191091365551.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Parents are being short-changed by schools that don't hand in their report cards on time, writes Caroline Milburn.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/schools-urged-do-better-on-data/2007/11/11/1194749385622.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Failure is not a dirty word
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/failure-is-not-a-dirty-word/2006/06/09/1149815312645.html?page=fullpage

Labor commits to publishing school data
http://www.theage.com.au/news/NATIONAL/Labor-commits-to-publishing-school-data/2007/11/18/1195321586810.html

Examples of school performance data:
http://www.sthelena.vic.edu.au/thecollege/Reports/Annual%20Report/Annual%20Report%202006.pdf
http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/innovation/Data_driven_school_improvement_through_VCEDS.ppt
http://www.psk12.com/rating/USindexphp/STATE_CA.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6215682.stm

[brendan]

Making the Grade: School Report Cards and League Tabes
International research shows that students in schools that publish their results publicly perform better than students in schools that do not. It is time for Australian schools to be accountable too. If school performance is to improve, there must be incentives for good performance and penalties for poor performance.

http://www.cis.org.au/issue_analysis/IA103/ia103.pdf

[brendan]

Julia Gillard pledges transparency of school performance
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24696731-601,00.html#