HSC result censorship ‘not a priority’ for Education Minister amid bureaucrats’ warning

Premier Dominic Perrottet has backed more transparency around HSC results, but his Education Minister won’t overturn a ban on comparing the vast majority of schools.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has thrown his support behind giving parents access to HSC results to see how their child’s school compares to others after The Daily Telegraph revealed bureaucrats had attempted to censor the publication of results.

Mr Perrottet appears to be at odds with Education Minister Sarah Mitchell who said she would not look to change the 1997 Education Act because the information given to parents was “sufficient”.

Under that legislation, only the top 10 per cent of schools would be allowed to be published, meaning often only parents of kids at elite private schools or government selective schools would ever know how they had gone in the HSC.

HSC students in the bottom 90 per cent of schools can’t compare how their school performed against others.

Bureaucrats late last year held meetings warning media organisations they may impose archaic laws preventing comparison of HSC results, in a censorship move experts say robs parents of vital school information.

As it currently stands, anybody disclosing how the other 90 per cent of schools in the state performed compared to others would be liable for a $55,000 fine.

Mr Perrottet said he sided with parents who wanted clear information on how their child’s school had gone in the HSC.

“As Premier I always believe we should err on the side of transparency – transparency and providing information is crucial,” he said.

“I think the more transparency you have in a system like that the more informed decisions people can make.”

Premier Dominic Perrottet has offered tentative support for revising the law keeping HSC results secret. Picture: Gaye Gerard

“I think it’s always useful for educators and for members of the public and mums and dads and teachers to understand educational outcomes.

“There’s a balance with that … Maybe sometimes information can be provided (that) does not actually lead to the analysis that comes off the back of it.

“It’s not a black and white issue.”

Ms Mitchell said while she supported transparency, she would not seek to change the Act which bans the comparison of schools.

“That’s not something that I’m looking at at the moment. It’s not a priority,” she said. “I think the way that we are able to provide our data now is sufficient. It’s in line with what a lot of other states and territories do.”

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says revisiting the law is ‘not a priority’. Picture: Gaye Gerard

For the Victorian Certificate of Education, every single school’s median study score is revealed so parents can see how their child’s school compares to those nearby. In Queensland, the percentage of students achieving a high “Overall Position” rank at more than 300 high schools is also publicly available to parents.

The move to ban the comparison and ensuing discussion of school results comes after the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority slapped a ban on comparative league tables from NAPLAN data. The same authority has also refused to release lists of how much taxpayer funding every school in the state receives because telling taxpayers where their money goes could “damage” relations between Commonwealth and state governments.

WHY HSC RESULTS COMPARISONS WILL BE KEPT SECRET

Education bureaucrats have warned media companies they will apply archaic laws preventing comparison of HSC results in a censorship move experts say robs parents of the ability to make informed decisions about their child’s school.

With HSC results to be published on Thursday, it can be revealed the NSW Education Standards Authority issued veiled warnings to media companies including The Daily Telegraph informing them a 1997 amendment to the Education Act meant the publication of results was illegal and risked a $55,000 fine.

Comparison lists have regularly been published by media companies, and private education analysts for many years.

They are pored over by curious parents, experts and teachers and give an easy to digest snapshot of how a school performs in any given year.

Chair of the Upper House Inquiry into Education Mark Latham said HSC results provided oversight as to whether billions of dollars of taxpayer funding was going to good use.

“It is a complete restriction on analysis, on reporting, on freedom to know — it is a complete outrage,” he said.

“Failing schools are a crime against the students, we shouldn’t tolerate it for a second, we should know these failing schools, the nature of the failure, and take urgent action to fix it.

“Secrecy is the friend of an underperforming teacher and an underperforming school. But it is the enemy of the students who are not getting the education they deserve. And the secrecy should end.”

The authority urged media organisations to publicise only the top 150 schools, meaning only elite private schools or selective public schools were likely to make the list.

Chair of the Upper House Inquiry into Education Mark Latham. Picture: Richard Dobson

The tables are calculated by the percentage of the number students who score over 90 per cent in a subject as a proportion of the number of students completing the HSC that year.

Centre for Independent Studies education researcher Glenn Fahey said it was a very clear way for parents to gauge how a school had performed.

“It can be reasonably well interpreted, the proportion of high achievers in a school is not terribly ambiguous,” he said.

“Most users of the information of school performance don’t use it to denigrate underperformers, they use it to recognise where the best performers are.”

Australian Tutoring Association president Mohan Dhall said parents wanted clear information about how their child’s school was performing but said there needed to be additional accountability for those at the bottom.

“Parents deserve more information rather than less,” he said.

“I would prefer they publish two lists — the top in every subject and a proportion of students who did the worst in every subject.”

Brielle Papadopoulos who completed her HSC last year and is waiting for her results to be available. She said every school should know how they went compared to other schools. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW Education Standards Authority acting chief executive Sofia Kesidou denied the organisation had threatened media outlets.

“At no point did NESA ever threaten media organisations, NESA did remind media of their obligations under the act when reporting on the HSC,” she said.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell yesterday would not answer questions about whether to change the law.

“Media have always been able to access and publish information on schools and how they and their students performed in the HSC,” she said.

“I am a firm believer in celebrating students and schools who succeed. The data used by media outlets for the reporting on the HSC is and will remain publicly available.”

PLC Sydney HSC student Brielle Papadopoulos completed her exams last year and is now awaiting her results.

“PLC are normally in the top 20. I am privileged enough to go to a private school but I have friends who work harder than me and they go to public school,” she said.

“They equally deserve to know how well their school is going to help them and make a decision about it.”

However her father Con Papadopoulos said he did not choose PLC Sydney based on marks and said there was more to a school than HSC results.

“I don’t necessarily believe as a parent that comparing the marks without looking at other key indicators is a good way of knowing how the school is going,” he said.