Julia Gillard's Baccalaureate

It is worth looking at what would probably happen in Queensland in maths and the numerical sciences. To do that it is necessary to know what actually occurs in Years 11 and 12 at present.

The Queensland Studies Authority seems to take the third word of their title very seriously. Certainly “authoritarian” is the kindest possible description of the assessment systems they impose. The students have to do what are called EEIs - Extended Experimental Investigations. These last for weeks on end, the students working in groups. Very little formal teaching takes place during that time. The students also have to do ERTs - Extended Response Tasks. Again these last for many weeks and very little teaching takes place. EEIs and ERTs dominate the assessment “system” and because of the authoritarian behaviour of QSA they dominate what is happening in the classrooms. Last week a Year 11 girl, whom I tutor, in response to my question “what’s going on in Physics” replied “there’s ERT and there’s EEI but not much Physics”. Out of the mouths …!

In the context of a possible “voluntary” AB it is not important whether I think that that is a good way to teach Physics (or Chemistry, Biology and the Maths subjects), What does matter is whether a student doing such a course is being put into a position to succeed at the AB. It is highly unlikely that an AB will differ much in assessment structures from the International Baccalaureate or UK “A” level with their emphasis on formal, supervised, unseen examinations. Hence an EEI and ERT “taught” student will have scant hope of performing well in an AB. Clearly a school cannot offer parallel courses each with a different objective.

It seems highly probable that unless there is radical change for the better in syllabi/assessment systems and educational standards in Queensland, then in reality there will be few students able to take up the AB opportunity.

Hence it all comes back to the same old crew, the QSA. Under them Queensland student performance has gone from top to bottom up to Year 10 exit at least. There has been a decline in maths learning of two years according to the Australian Council of Educational Research. Its subject assessment systems in Years 11 and 12 are eccentric to say the least. It is a demonstrably failed organisation.

Successive Commonwealth governments have seen the problem posed to our students by the parochial State run education systems. Mr Howard’s Australian Certificate crashed and sank on those jagged rocks. It is probable that, in Queensland at least, Ms Gillard’s Baccalaureate will sink as well.

As mentioned earlier nothing short of constitutional change can enable a Commonwealth government to influence what goes on in the States. It is a State power and hence a State responsibility.

In Queensland the dreadful plight of our education system is known to all (except the QSA). State parliament is the only group that can do anything towards putting our students back at the top where they used to be. Both sides of politics know how bad the situation is. To date they have done nothing. How many more children must suffer before they act?

It is all very sad, but just to make sure you feel thoroughly depressed I offer the following happy thought: in the paper today the Prime Minister, commenting about the coalitions views on broadband, said that “without this technology our schoolchildren will fall behind (Singapore, Korea and Japan)”. Obviously Ms Gillard does not know that on the international TIMSS tests about 40 per cent of the children from those countries achieve “Advanced” at Year 9 level in maths. Only7 per cent of Australian children achieve that level and only 3 per cent of Queenslanders. How much “further behind” can we go?