Before this system was introduced the best teachers would always try and get the best students because they could then brag about how many students they had in top 1000 performers etc.
Now the best teachers try to get the worst performing classes so they can get the greatest improvement.
Thus the worst classes get the best teachers and in that way the whole country's education system is lifted.
Robina Cosser says : I found Chris's article interesting because a principal I worked with in England did something very similar.
Each week the classes were tested and the results posted up on the classroom wall.
Then, at the end of the year, the classes were tested and compared.
I thought it was a very effective way for the principal to identify weak teachers.
In the years since I first established this website, I have received several emails from older male teachers who believe that they have been discriminated against in favour of young, pretty women teachers.
And I myself sometimes felt that Queensland principals were more comfortable dealing with dim teachers.
And I felt pressured to comply with 'trendy' teaching methods which were clearly failing the students.
And I often wondered if Queensland teachers and principals were being rewarded and promoted for their family connections, political beliefs, etc. rather than their teaching or administrative skills.
Objective evaluation would bring the focus in Queensland schools back on education.
It would force the Queensland education system to work for Queenslanders - rather than for a particular political party.
We need that in Queensland.
And it would not cost very much.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=13389&page=1