Teacher v student: what ratios look like in the Territory

The NT has some of the most improved student to teacher ratios in the country according to national data. But how do we rank overall? See our interactive graphic that ranks every NT school.

Data has revealed the NT's best and worst resourced classrooms.

THE Northern Territory has some of the most improved student to teacher school ratios in the country, according to national data.

An analysis by the NT News using enrolment and teacher data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has found the progress of student to teacher ratios across the Territory.

Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs outperformed most cities with a maximum 17.9 students per teacher at Bakewell Primary School, in comparison to 29.7 students per teacher at Brisbane’s Charlotte Mason College, that state’s highest metropolitan figure.

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Rural and remote NT had one of the highest student to teacher ratios in the country, 28.3 at Amanbidji School in Mataranka, however Nyirrpi School in Nyirripi was ranked the most improved school in the nation, shifting from 46 students per teacher in 2013 to 11.7 students per teacher in 2018.

The Territory also claimed second place in school improvements, with the Northern Territory School of Distance Education changed from 2.4 students per teacher in 2013 to 0.8 students per teacher in 2018.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF NT SCHOOLS

Deakin University Research for Educational Impact academic Dr Steven Lewis said while student to teacher ratios were important, the figures did not entirely reflect a school’s quality of education.

“The single figure of student-teacher ratio can obscure how well a particular school is resourced, as well as how they have decided to use these resources,” he said.

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It is important to remind policymakers not to fall into the trap of relying on single indicators — in this case, student-teacher ratio — to make broad judgments and policy decisions on the effectiveness of an entire schooling system, or the quality of teacher practice or student learning.

This week the NT News is releasing a series of stories on student to teacher ratios as part of a national analysis of school data.

Visit ntnews.com.au to find out how schools in Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and rural and remote NT compared in student to teacher ratios.