Good teachers are the key to successful education

The schools that deliver the best value are not those with glossy brochures, latest technology or best results in standardised tests. It’s all about the teachers.

A great teracher makes a big difference.

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It would be fair to say that the most common way that we measure the success of a school or education system is by using comparisons.

Comparisons are made regularly on how Australian education ranks internationally, how public schools compare with non-government, selective with comprehensive, and so on.

These kind of simplistic comparisons can lead us to think that when it comes to improving student learning, there can be a big difference between schools.

Everyone remembers a good teacher.

While schools do make a difference, we also know that the biggest difference is within schools not between them. The research is clear: it is the quality of the teacher that has the biggest influence on achievement.

Think about your child’s reaction (or your own reaction!) on discovering which class he or she is in for that year, and who the teacher is.

There is either elation or deflation, and this is because we always seem to know who the good teachers are! They are the ones who are able to work with any child, in any space, on any given day to make learning enjoyable and success achievable.

The most successful schools have the best teachers.

From the outside, it might seem easy to hide underperforming teachers behind the walls of a ‘good’ school but teacher quality is always reflected­ in the improvement of outcomes for all students, not just the best and brightest.

We cannot assume that a maths or history teacher in one class is the same as in another­. Student achievement is strengthened by improving what teachers do each day in classrooms.

It goes without saying that every parent wants his or her child to succeed, but keep in mind that if you’re comparing schools, the most effective are the ones that move all students forward, and the best systems are the ones moving all schools upwards­.

The schools that deliver the best value are not the ones with the glossy brochures, latest technology or the best results on standardised tests – they are the ones that are ensuring that there are high-quality, deeply committed teachers in every classroom across every year.