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Does Money buy you Love a Job? What matters and what doesnt in the Australian Education System

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The Good News Australians have the skills they need by the end of high school

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In Australia, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden, more than 30% of tertiary- educated adults perform at Level 4 or 5 the highest levels in literacy proficiency on the OECD Survey of Adult Skills.

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Our Secondary students perform better than many countries university graduates

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This is good because good things happen for people with skills

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The Bad News We are going backwards very quickly

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Australia was 1 of only 5 countries to record a significant drop in PISA scores between 2000 and 2009 (it got worse in 2012) The other 4 were Ireland, Argentina, Sweden and the Czech Republic

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So is there any hope?

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What doesnt matter? 1. Paying for education

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Money buys you zip O After adjusting for SES of students, outcomes are similar in Public and Private schools and getting closer O Once kids get to tertiary education, public school students outperform the others O IQ should be the only predictor of educational outcome but in Australia money is the best predictor O The chance of overcoming disadvantage in Australias education system is 30% (OECD average 31%) in best performing system it is 76% O But in the falling tide all boats are sinking together

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What doesnt matter There is also no advantage in education outcomes when it comes to: O mixed vs. same sex schools O size of school O class size O composite or multi-age classes O streaming or tracking students according to ability O teachers with post-graduate qualifications O teaching experience, except for those with less than 3 years in the job

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What does matter? O 1. Parents O High expectations consistently deliver high results. Parents who expect a lot from their kids invariably create kids who expect a lot from themselves. O Parental engagement in education changes outcomes

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What does matter? O 2. Teachers O The best education systems that produce the best student outcomes have a focus on teacher development throughout their teaching career and intensely when they enter the profession. O Professional development of teachers is not just one-off courses or doing post-graduate study. It is best done as both informal and formal program within the teaching environment, within schools and in the pursuit of teaching excellence. O Teachers that are passionate about teaching, about learning themselves AND about learning about teaching is what is most important.

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What does matter? O 3. Leaders O It is the School Principal and their leadership team that will have the biggest influence on a school. O A good leader will not only be actively working to ensure the school has effective teachers, theyll be trying to make them even more effective.

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The 5 things a good leader does 1. Implementing a hard-core teacher improvement agenda 2. Closely monitoring teacher performance 3. Hiring the right teaching staff 4. Maintaining peace and order 5. Setting goals and expectations

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8 Other things that matter A great school has up to 8 other things that make a real difference to education outcomes

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1. Learning to Learn If students are taught the most effective ways to learn they can drive a lot of their own learning and it sets them up for life. O How does the school teach and embed learning skills in students? O Do they teach study skills, planning skills, research skills, goal- setting and how to self-evaluate? O Do they require discipline to embed strong learning habits from the earliest stage and is this reinforced? O Does the school foster a love of learning culture from the principal down to the student body?

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2. Extracurricular activities (especially music) O Music is very important. The good news is it doesnt matter the type, how much or the level of music studied. O Any learning and participation that engages students in music results in better educational outcomes. O Other activities that encourage participation, allow kids to learn new things and take risks in a safe environment and set high expectations for trying add value to education outcomes.

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3. Languages O Learning a language no matter what language and to what intensity improves results in other curriculum areas, especially maths. O Once again good news they dont need to be good at it. For whatever reason the learning of language other than ones native tongue helps improve a childs other curriculum areas. O For a sustained benefit the research shows it is best if the language instruction starts early and keeps going.

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4. Technology O Technology is a tool short and simple. Technology should not be used to replace teachers. O Schools that use technology to supplement classroom teaching AND provide students opportunities to practice and receive individual feedback produce the best education outcomes. O Effective teachers and schools use technology to support what they are doing. Children do not need their own computer. In fact using computers in pairs produces optimum learning outcomes.

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5. Effective Behaviour Management O One of the clearest signs of an effective teacher is how they control disruptive behaviour in a classroom. A school with teachers who set high standards for student behaviour, which is reinforced and supported by parents at home, produces the best results. O Research shows that the most effective way a school can manage disruptive behaviour is with credible punishment combined with positive reinforcement. What is credible punishment for students? Telling their parents! O If a school is communicating with parents when a student doesnt meet behaviour standards and the parent and school show a united front to the student then behaviour patterns shift.

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6. Effective use of Homework O Many, many, many studies show that homework or no homework does not really impact educational outcomes for children except for the higher school years. O So it is not about whether the school requires homework it is about what that homework is and how it is conducted. O Parent involvement in homework is the biggest contributor to improving student outcomes. This is NOT parents doing the homework. It means parents demonstrating a serious interest in their childs education, reinforces high expectations, shows that you care about your child and their school work. O Homework in primary and junior high school years is not a good thing and doesnt make a difference. In higher school years, if there is a foundation of learning to learn skills and allowing kids to practice and drill the learning areas they are studying it will positively impact their academic performance.

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7. Effective Parent Communication O Direct and regular communication with parents beyond the meet the teacher sessions and biannual school reports. O This needs to be more than the email/call/meet me anytime you are concerned about your child. It has to be a communication program that can engage all parents and see them as part of the learning community.

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8. Avoid Streaming O Tracking or streaming kids according to ability does not improve their educational outcomes. O In fact it can have a negative effect especially for those who are tracked at a lower ability as it sends a message of low expectations. It can also reinforce inequities, polarise the student body and impact negatively on school spirit. O When you take into account that it delivers absolutely no academic benefit (for anybody), it seems a big price to pay for parental bragging rights (or making some teachers lives a bit easier).

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But Acceleration works O Good schools and effective teachers can teach students of varying abilities within the same class. O Acceleration means that students can be paced at a greater speed through the curriculum. They could be assigned in subjects to higher year levels. O Gifted kids that get accelerated through the curriculum outperform streamed/selective kids. O And in case youre worried about the social effects, research shows there is no downside. It does not harm younger children being accelerated through higher grades or subjects in their social or interpersonal development.

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david@davidgillespie.org www.davidgillespie.org Free Schools @gillespi