Minister thanks for joining us.
It's a pleasure Leigh.
Federal Government spending on education has increased by $20 billion during the past decade, with little improvement in results if you look at the NAPLAN outcomes: why?
Well, I think it's important for us to understand that it's not just about money
which I'm saying because NAPLAN evidently isn't going so well.
Obviously money is important
which I'm saying so that I can quote myself if Labor attacks us on education spending, and also in case NAPLAN miraculously becomes good later on,
but with that, also has to come reform […]
[…] and as we roll this out, my hope is that we will start to see an uplift in the NAPLAN results.
How good are miracles, eh?
But you say "as we roll this out"… you've been in government for six years now.
Oh yeah… umm… time for a casual deflection…
That's right and it takes a while to get all the states and territories onboard. […]
The three biggest states, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, are all reviewing NAPLAN. Is it a matter of time until it's overhauled or dumped?
So […] we're transitioning NAPLAN from pen and paper to online. […] It might take us two years, but our hope is that we can get that done
and this is the same kind of hope as I mentioned before, regarding uplift in results.
[…] once we've got NAPLAN fully online, it will be time to have a look at NAPLAN and say: "OK. How can we make it fit for purpose for the next 5–10 years?"
I mean, NAPLAN's totally fit for purpose right now, isn't it?
Mmm…
On that point about online, the last round of tests were marred by computer glitches. Are you confident in what the test results are actually showing, and do they match your sense of what you see anecdotally […]?
Yes. All the advice that I'm getting is that the results are comparable, and that's come from the experts
thank God for them
[…] and […] the feedback that I'm getting, especially when it comes from parents is, that they like NAPLAN […] because they get a sense as to where their child's at with their education.
But people were told, "Swallow your concerns about, say, pressure on children […], because NAPLAN will help lead to significant improvements in student outcomes." If it hasn't done that so far, then why keep going with it?
Well, […] the reason we know that we're getting a mixed performance when it comes to NAPLAN is because students are undertaking it
…so if NAPLAN didn't exist then we wouldn't know how bad it is?
[…]
[…] The Chancellor of the University of Queensland Peter Varghese raised this question this week, of: "What proportion of the student population can be international, before you fundamentally change the character of a university?"
Is it a third? A half? Three quarters? What do you think is the answer to that?
Well can I say, I'm very pleased that Peter Varghese as a Chancellor is raising this question
so that I don't have to
[…] and it's something that […] [university] councils should be asking.
Well can't you just answer the question?
But as the Minister, I'm asking you what do you think? A quarter? A half?
Well Leigh, it varies
because I don't want to piss off people who are filling university coffers, the contents of which eventually flow on into our coffers.
[…]
Minister, thanks for speaking to us.
Pleasure Leigh.