Margaret Wu , an academic from Melbourne University and an expert in educational measurement and the analysis of student testing data talks about the limitations of the NAPLAN test when used in the MySchool website data to compare schools' performance.
In the following video Margaret Wu explains why teachers and Principals concerns about the misuse of data to compare schools are statistically valid.
Yet some media outlets want to use this data to create League Tables.
The overseas experience is clear. League tables change fundamentally what is taught and how it is taught. Based on a single test instrument, league tables damage schools and communities by unfairly naming and shaming them, and devastate both students and teachers in schools identified as failing, whether on a local, state or national basis. League tables narrow the curriculum as more and more pressure is applied to 'teach to the test' to improve school scores.
Associate Professor Margaret Wu on the limitations of the NAPLAN data
