The Page Research Centre’s new education paper, “Neither better nor fairer: how student assessment practices betray Australia’s national education goals,” was featured in Education HQ:
A paper published by public policy think tank Page Research Centre on Tuesday called for nationally consistent assessment standards after finding “considerable differences” across Australian states, despite conforming to a national curriculum.
In Victoria and NSW, students must study English through to Year 12 and sit external examinations to receive their ATAR.
Comparatively, in South Australia and the NT, English was optional in the final year of schooling and some English subjects had no formal external written assessment, said the not-for-profit, which is affiliated with the National Party.
“These differences raise fundamental questions about the comparability of educational achievement across Australia, particularly when students compete for university places through a nationally recognised ranking system,” the Neither Better Nor Fairer report stated.
