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The third release of the My School website provides further information with
which schools and their communities can monitor their effectiveness. A clear picture
of progress over time can be seen with data over four years from 2008 to 2011.
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As before, schools can compare themselves with other schools that serve similar
students and can compare their progress over the years with those schools. In the
new version of the website, they can also compare their progress against that of
others with the same starting point in 2008.
The greatest value of the site will come to those schools that open up productive
discussions with other schools that are doing better in similar circumstances to
help them review and improve their own practices. The site reports on all schools
so those conversations can occur across geographic and school system boundaries.
The initial release of the website in January 2010 provoked much discussion on the
validity and utility of the data it contained and the way in which those data were
presented. It has been interesting to see the shift in the discussion since then.
Analysts and press correspondents are much less likely now to challenge the data
than to use them to clarify their thinking and support their arguments. That is
very encouraging evidence of the value of
My School.
Professor Barry McGaw AO
Chair
ACARA