Naplan shmaplan, more money please!

The latest Naplan results are in:

http://www.news.com.au/national/rich-childrer-perform-better-at-school/story-e6frfkvr-1226320881931


Naplan was introduced by the Labour government in 2008, It was supposed to make a schools academic performance available for parents. This would allow parents to compare and choose schools based on their success.

Well, I can't help but wonder why a government would spend money on tallying the results, writing reports and maintaining a website when simply putting that money back into the social system would alleviate some of the issues it tries to highlight.  Parents moving kids from poorer performing schools is not going to help things improve.   What it will do is reduce the amount of funding that a school  receives, thus making it harder for that school to do anything better.

I wonder if this government had anticipated that when the Naplan results were tallied that it would indicate that more funding was required for lower SES families.  At a time when the government is falling over itself trying to scrape together enough pennies so not to look like a half starved leper on pension day, their own handiwork comes back and presents with yet another public issue they cannot properly manage.

It was not that long ago that the government spent Billions on new buildings for schools that need more teachers, It gave schools that required a library a second Gym and it gave schools in need of aid funding more class rooms. I am glad this report has come out now, It shows me that flashy new buildings and interactive whiteboards make no difference to a child that needs an integration aide, or a teacher that wants more time, training and autonomy. 

I am struggling to find any good points to Naplan. It does not indicate which schools are better for a particular child, it only shows us a comparative slide on basic academics. It does not tell us which schools have teachers that are compassionate about things like special needs, sciences, music or arts. It does not tell us whether the principal is a witch who secretly hates children and is plotting to cook them all in an oven in her ginger bread house.

One thing it clearly and without debate does, is show us that money in families makes a difference to a child's academic success. It shows us that financially secure families do better.

I have been shaking my head since 2008, but now I feel justified...