No technology, no computing tests

By Jennifer Leete

Federation Council will consider placing bans on both the year 6 and year 10 Computing Skills Assessment (CSA) tests when it meets on May 7.

The year 6 CSA was implemented online for the first time by the Department of Education and Training in 2004. As any primary teacher will tell you it was a total disaster, largely because of technical difficulties and failures.

The year 10 CSA is currently being trialled by the Office of the Board of Studies and current plans are for it to go statewide and be reported on as part of the School Certificate package in 2006. While the Government had originally planned for statewide implementation in 2004, then Minister Andrew Refshauge deferred it until 2006 following representations from the Federation.

The year 10 CSA is supposed to be a test of the various Information and Communications Technology (ICT) competencies which have been integrated into the new year 7-10 syllabuses. These syllabuses are being implemented for year 7 and year 9 in 2005. The syllabuses and the year 10 CSA, as part of the School Certificate, apply to both public education students and non government school students.

Federation has had continuing representations and complaints from schools about the Government's failure to provide proper resourcing in order that teachers can adequately prepare students for these tests and meet syllabus requirements. Secondary school principals and computer coordinators as well as classroom teachers, throughout 2004, have been expressing grave concerns about the Government's failure to provide schools with the computers which were promised as part of the 2004 rollout. In fact, the 2004 rollout did not occur. Despite a November announcement by Dr Refshauge of a new computer rollout, a quick search behind the media spin reveals that many schools, especially the larger metropolitan schools, will not receive new computers until the last half of 2005.

Schools will not be able to meet syllabus requirements for their students if they don't have enough computers.

Schools will also find it very hard to meet syllabus requirements if the computers or systems they do have malfunction or break down and there is not adequate technology support available to quickly repair them.

Federation's policy is that technical support staff should be available in schools. Fixing computers and their networks is not teachers' work, whether they be computer coordinators or other teachers.

In November 2004, Dr Refshauge announced the creation of an additional 129 technology support positions. The spin again looked good at the time but an examination of the facts revealed that most of them would not actually materialise until 2007.

Federation's Senior Officers have made representations to the Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, to have the appointment of all these positions brought forward to the first half of 2005. This proposal, as well as the need for the computer rollout problem to be addressed, is also contained in the Federation's budget submission to the State Government.

Members in schools can strengthen Federation's negotiating position on these issues by faxing the Minister and Director-General Andrew Cappie-Wood with details of how each school is having problems meeting syllabus requirements in relation to technology. Your Federation Representative has been sent a pro-forma for this purpose.

To address the problem this lack of resourcing of technology has caused for the schools, the Minister has a number of alternatives. If the resources aren't provided in the 2005 State Budget, Ms Tebbutt will have to consider deferring the year 10 CSA until after 2006.

Jennifer Leete is the Deputy President.

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March 2005 contents