In the same week that the Government rejected a Liberal motion for an independent inquiry into the ACT education system, the ACT Auditor-General published a highly critical report on teaching quality in ACT public schools.
Auditor-General Michael Harris’s report noted that the Education Directorate was trying to improve teaching practices, but their strategies were ineffective on several measures.
“While the Education Directorate has established a range of professional learning and other supports to improve teaching practices, the effectiveness of these programs is reduced by a lack of awareness amongst teachers and school leaders. Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms cannot demonstrate the impact of these programs across the ACT public school system,” the report reads.
It argued that despite clear performance measures and twice-yearly reports, baseline data was not consistently captured.
Schools were measured against the National School Improvement Tool to improve student outcomes, but many schools did not take part in the improvement process, or understand its roles and responsibilities.
Moreover, the Education Directorate did not plan or monitor the distribution of experienced teachers across the public school system. This meant principals could exclude highly experienced teachers from the annual teacher transfer round, and teachers were not transferred to schools where they wanted to teach.
“These practices limit the ability of schools to access highly experienced teachers to improve teaching quality,” Mr Harris said.
The teacher performance development process did not support teaching quality, or teaching appraisals to allow feedback on classroom teaching practices, the report stated. The performance management process for teaching staff was not implemented effectively.
Education Minister defends public schools
Questioned on Thursday, Yvette Berry, Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, said that she had only received the audit report the previous afternoon; once she had considered its findings and its 14 recommendations, she would provide a response.
“Look, any school will have various issues raised. Generally, they are safe places. Generally, our teachers are of the highest quality Occasionally, some things won’t work completely to plan.
“The ACT Government has a good strategy in place, to make sure that teachers are supported to be the best that they possibly can be. And the ACT Government has a proud history of supporting our teaching profession to make sure they have all the supports that they need to continue to hone their craft, to have all the tools in their tool kit that they need to provide every child with a great education.”
The ACT had been one of the first jurisdictions to set up a teacher registration process, through the Teacher Quality Institute, Ms Berry said. It paid public school teachers more than in other states, and also provided scholarships for young teachers.
Liberals feel vindicated
Shadow Education Minister Jeremy Hanson called the audit “yet another damning report into the ACT Government school system”, and believed it justified the Liberals’ demand for an inquiry.
“Given the Auditor-General has recommended five reviews now into aspects of teacher quality programs that are failing or need rectifying, this report validates the Canberra Liberals’ calls for a comprehensive review of our school system.
“The report also confirms the concerns we have raised about school autonomy and inconsistency across schools, as well as a failure to properly evaluate and review programs that have been implemented.”
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