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An edited version of the letter below was published in The Australian of Thursday 29 December 2016. It had been submitted in response to an opinion piece by Kevin Donnelly. The letter was grouped with another under a heading not directly related to the subject matter of mine. Underlined words were deleted and bracketed ones were inserted. The quotation marks that I used for the pieces cited from Donnelly's article were also removed.
Educational commentator inconsistent
The latest opinion piece from educational commentator Kevin Donnelly is internally contradictory ("Here's why non-government schools work better", Dec 28).
Citing Brian Caldwell, he (Donnelly) argues that schools should have greater autonomy in relation to "curriculum, teaching and assessment". At the same time however, he repeats his regularly expressed support for "high-risk examinations".
These two positions don't really fit together. In educational regimes that feature high stakes external examinations, preparation for what is anticipated in the exam effectively becomes the curriculum irrespective of what any syllabus document might say. And by their very nature, external exams like the NSW HSC (HSC in NSW) are necessarily "one-size-fits-all" arrangements with all students across the state sitting for the same test. Donnelly regularly uses this phrase to criticise what he likes to call (calls) "command-and-control" management of schooling. Logically, he can't have it both ways.
 "Garry Collins, ETAQ Immediate Past President")
Author:Garry Collins, ETAQ Immediate Past President| Tags:Assessment |
Teacher event - external assessmentLatest news Due to the lockdown in south east Queensland, this event will now be fully online. Links for the sessions will be emailed to all registrants on FRIDAY afternoon; you will be able to access the materials from 9am on Saturday morning. If you registered for in-person attendance, your registration will be automatic... | ||||||||||||||||||
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Darling Downs Branch presents
The Darling Downs Branch will present Everything about the external exam on Wednesday 11 August from 3:30 to 5:30pm.
Join us for an afternoon to reconnect with English colleagues, engage in discussion and explore ideas on how to prepare students for the external exam. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Grammar PD term 3To assist attendees to develop their understandings of grammar in order to fully comprehend and to effectively teach the Australia Curriculum: English (AC:E), a further session will be held on Saturday 28 August at a venue (to be announced) in the metropolitan area. Download the flyer for further details. If your school is inter... | |||||||||||||||
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Student event - external assessmentFlexible modes of delivery will allow you and your students to engage with the materials at a time that suits you. Once again this event will be fully online to cater for all members and their students. This year the materials will come to you live in the afternoon of Wednesday 8 September. The recorded materials will th... | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-service teachers presentTownsville branch will present EMBEDDING INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES IN AUSTRALIAN SHORT STORY UNIT. by a group of pre-service teachers on Saturday 16 October 2021 from 9 am till 11 am. See the flyer for more details. Registrations will open on 1st September. | |||||||||||||||
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This is the first time I have been to an ETAQ conference and it was really sensational to get so much at all of the sessions.
ETAQ conferences always have sessions that make me excited to be a teacher.
I know that ETAQ conferences in the past have never disappointed - valuable, relevant, practical, inspiring so I came again.
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