NEW AND INTERESTING

• December 2: Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby has urged Australians to stand up for state schools.
• Victoria's school reporting system launched November 28.
• God Vs Caesar: Kevin Rudd has extended the Chaplaincy program (see Maralyn Parker's comments) but 'Rees plans to introduce ehtics classes in school' (SMH Nov 25). What are the odds on Nathan Rees backing down?
• Angelo Gavrielatos (Canberra Times Nov 23) puts the case of the peak education groups against league tables .... and I comment on Life Matters (Nov 24) on problems in using New York City as a model. Even better, read Diane Ravitch in Education Week, December 1
• Guardian Nov 19: Looks like we'll have our national tests bedded in at around the same time similar tests are abolished in England!
• Then the SMH reports 'Schools unite against rankings' Nov 17, with Gillard's response script reported in The Oz (Nov 18). More of the same in her address to the Eidos Institute. A more complete report in ABC News online.
• Looks like the SMH is the stalking horse to test the NSW legislation on league tables: Nov 12 and Nov 13.
• 'Report cards on Victorian schools a first' The Age Nov 6. Should we ape New York? My comments in Inside Story.
• Interesting dialogue on Maralyn Parker's blog about a non-funded private school being excluded from the AIS club.
• Brian Caldwell is written up in two Fairfax papers, questioning the progress of the education revolution (The Age Nov 2) and casting even more doubt on high-stakes testing (SMH Nov 2)
• What price transparency? Read 'Call to schools: open your books' The Age Oct 26
• Some very interesting news and comment from Maralyn Parker following a forum on league tables. Oct 28. Trevor Cobbold comments
• Forever on autopilot, Julia Gillard is about to take schools down another path built on fraud and strewn with casualties. Read 'School heads to get more control' The Australian, Oct 27
• Separating kids into different schools has big downsides. Read Peter Browne's report on some very interesting research. Inside Story, Oct 22. Also read his earlier report 'American Dreams'
• 'Elite schools splash out on property deals' SMH Oct 24
• The Advertiser (Oct 22) reports on 'Our C-grade education revolution'
• This is just the start: 'Schools play truant to avoid bad marks' SMH Oct 20
• SMH Oct 19: 'We can learn from US on schools, says Gillard' - go figure!! Or better still read what the NY Times reports about testing in NY City (Oct 14) But best of all go to Trevor Cobbold's report. Maybe we should learn from England: the Cambridge primary review's key findings say let teachers control lessons, scrap SATS and homework.
• SMH October 15: the schools spendathon unravels - 'Schools lose new buildings after spending spree'
• 'National literacy and numeracy tests not reliable' The Oz, October 12. As a way of comparing schools they were never going to be reliable! Trevor Cobbold provides excellent additional info. More in The Oz, Oct 13
• October 1. We seem to be beseiged with statements of the obvious - to all except government. The Ed Guardian comments on the value of pre-school education. The Age (and others) report on new (?) research showing how disadvantage is transferred from one generation to the next.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

WHAT'S NEW - PREVIOUS. GOTO THIS LINK FOR A COMPLETE LIST AND HOTLINKS TO THE IMPORTANT EDUCATION NEWS AND OPINION SINCE JANUARY 2008.