Reform omits teacher review

THE explicit requirement that teachers undergo annual reviews of their performance has been omitted from the education reform agreement.

THE explicit requirement that teachers undergo annual reviews of their performance linked to promotion and pay rises has been omitted from the national education reform agreement, which sets out the conditions for school systems to receive increased money under Labor's new funding model.

An earlier draft of the reform deal specifies school sectors will "link teacher career progression" to the national teacher standards, to ensure that the developing expertise in improving student results "is recognised and rewarded through career development".

The draft says that, from next year, "systems and schools will implement the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework, ensuring all teachers benefit from an annual performance review linked to appropriate professional development".

It also says that measures to support teacher career progression will be outlined in bilateral agreements between the commonwealth and each state and territory.

While the main agreement retains a commitment to giving teachers feedback on their performance through the adoption of the framework, the specific references to annual appraisals linked to career promotion have been removed from the final agreement endorsed last month by the Council of Australian Governments.

A spokeswoman for School Education Minister Peter Garrett said the federal government had retained its commitment for annual appraisals of teachers through the framework, which was adopted by all state and territory education ministers last August and is being implemented around the nation.

The spokeswoman said the explicit references were removed from the schedule only because there was no need to spell out in three different documents a reform that had been adopted.

But the omission has raised questions in the schools sector about the reasons for deleting something that was already written into an agreement, amid concerns that the commitment is being watered down.

The framework, developed by the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership, says formal review of teachers' performance was essential "at least annually" but the reviews are not explicitly linked to career progression.

One schools official told The Australian the standards, which are still mentioned in the schedule and have also been adopted by the states and territories, are much more vague about performance reviews than the framework.

"It's raised questions about is it in or is it out? The teacher standards are very vague compared to the performance framework. It's watered down the process and there's a lot more wriggle room in the document now," he said.

The concerns have been heightened after Julia Gillard's description of the debate on standards following the budget as "white noise and distraction".

Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne said the omission cast doubt on Labor's commitment to its reforms.

"These changes suggest Labor is desperate to strike a deal with the states and are prepared to dump some of their requirements and interventions initially announced under the national school improvement plan to achieve this end," he said. "However, even with these changes, schools will be facing new unprecedented federal red tape and bureaucratic interference."