One vital question has been overlooked in the coverage of the federal government’s My University website, writes Dean Ashenden. Why duplicate a service that already exists?
05 Apr 12 Comments (5)Gonski the game-changer
The Gonski report has brought together an enormous body of evidence to show why equity must be at the centre of school policy, writes Chris Bonnor, and has decisively shifted the terms of the debate
29 Feb 12 Comments (9)Gonski’s review: another salvo in the Hundred Years’ War
Strongly argued, thoroughly evidenced, and unlikely to succeed. Dean Ashenden looks at the Gonski report on school funding
24 Feb 12 Comments (3)
Learning in both worlds
Despite the international evidence, the Northern Territory has discouraged bilingual programs in its schools, writes Lisa Waller. But there are early signs of another shift in attitude, in both Darwin and Canberra
27 Oct 11 Comments (2)School chaplains: time to look at the evidence
The debate about the federal government’s school chaplaincy program has suffered from a lack of hard evidence, argue Monica Thielking and David MacKenzie
13 Jul 11 Comments (11)Ah, the olden days!
Another history war under another conservative government. Frank Bongiorno reports from London
05 Jun 11 Comments (0)My School, PISA and Australia’s equity gap
Do schools determine the performance of students, or do students determine the performance of schools? Chris Bonnor investigates
11 May 11 Comments (4)My School 2.0: getting better by degrees?
My School 2.0 promised improvements, but how much better is this latest version? Chris Bonnor assesses the evidence
08 Mar 11 Comments (0)Incremental inequity
The expanded Education Tax Refund should be on the list of election promises up for reappraisal, writes Daniel Nethery
06 Oct 10 Comments (0)Back to schools
Schools policy is back on the election agenda, writes Ben Eltham. But will it lead to substantial reform?
23 Jul 10 Comments (0)Are autonomous schools the answer?
Australian policymakers are undoubtedly watching developments in Britain and the United States with interest. But how much can we learn from systems that are so different from our own, asks Dahle Suggett
15 Jul 10 Comments (1)NAPLAN and the states: an intriguing result
Whatever NAPLAN’s limitations, it does provide intriguing information about how different school systems perform, writes Dahle Suggett
18 May 10 Comments (0)What My School really says about our schools
While My School says very little about the effectiveness of any school, it does offer some tantalising information about Australia’s school system in general, writes Chris Bonnor
23 Apr 10 Comments (3)Teaching to the test
Once an advocate of testing and accountability in schools, Diane Ravitch has reassessed the evidence, writes Paul Bamford
07 Apr 10 Comments (2)My School and your school
My School promises to compare like with like, but a close look at thirty-six “average” schools reveals the limitations of this way of measuring achievement, writes Chris Bonnor
24 Feb 10 Comments (5)Reformed to the hilt
Doubts about New York’s system-wide educational reforms are intensifying, reports Chris Bonnor
05 Nov 09 Comments (0)One league away from disaster
School league tables will reinforce mistaken ideas about why some schools seem to perform better than others, writes Chris Bonnor
09 Sep 09 Comments (4)Big town blues
Competition has taught schools a golden rule of business: your reputation is enhanced if you have greater control over the inputs – in this case, students. Chris Bonnor looks at what that means in large country towns
14 Dec 08 Comments (0)Gone bush
Why are some rural government schools doing so well? Because they reflect the old idea that schools should serve all the students in their community, writes Chris Bonnor
27 Oct 08 Comments (2)
