Why teachers' unions oppose league tables

Saturday, January 23, 2010 - 11:00

What do league tables do?

Rank schools according to the performance of their students, much like football teams are ranked after each round.

What's the problem with them?

They ignore the social, economic and cultural differences between schools — all factors that inevitably impact on student performance.

This leads to negative results:

• loss in confidence of "failing" schools;
• pincipals being sacked;
• beakdown of school communities; and
• further polarisation of privilege and poverty.

League tables don't help

They do nothing to address the real reasons for so-called "failing" schools: consistent under-funding, very real socio-economic disadvantage and other social and cultural factors.
All major educational organisations (including parents' organisations) in Australia are opposed to league tables.

From GLW issue 823