Eltis implementation decisions pending

By Jennifer Leete

Following consultation with teachers, the July meeting of the Board of Studies will determine future directions about "mandatory outcomes in the K-6 curriculum".

The Board consultation document proposed that existing K-6 syllabus outcomes in Mathematics and English would be "mandatory" but that only half of the current outcomes in the other key learning areas would be mandatory. The Human Society and its Environment outcomes to be "not mandatory" included those which currently provide for the teaching of Aboriginal perspectives, including Aboriginal history and reconciliation issues.

The union and a number of other key organisations have opposed this. Federation's written response to the consultation pointed out that the huge and untenable workload demands facing primary teachers arise not directly from the number of syllabus outcomes but rather from an unreasonable expectation that all syllabus outcomes will be programmed, taught, assessed and then reported on to parents. Federation's submission stated in part:

"It is the expectations and/or requirements put in place at the school level regarding the assessment, recording and reporting to parents of these specific curriculum outcomes that is the greatest source of pressure and which creates excessive workload demands. Many teachers describe these workload demands as untenable because of the potential to adversely impact on the health and family and personal lives of teachers.

"Whether 'mandatory outcomes' are identified by the Board of Studies or whether they are not, the issue of workload will not seriously be addressed unless specific and concise policy requirements, which also focus on manageable workload, are produced by the DET [Department of Education and Training] and clearly promulgated with the aim of ensuring consistency of interpretation across schools.

"The mandatory outcomes approach should be abandoned. The Board of Studies should work cooperatively with the DET to produce a new document which, based on the existing stage statements from the existing K-6 syllabus documents, includes clear statements in simple language about what should be taught. Such statements could then be used as the focus for programming, assessment and reporting to parents, but would be more holistic and more meaningful to parents than individual syllabus outcomes. This would then leave the syllabus outcomes to facilitate the work of teachers.

"DET and the Board of Studies should jointly issue, to DET schools, a written statement which makes it clear that the language of individual syllabus outcomes is not to be used in written reports to parents."

The last Board of Studies meeting held on May 3 received a written report on the responses to the Board consultation paper, including of course, the Federation's response. No firm decision will be made until July, when the Board next considers the matter.

DET, of course, was also engaging in its own consultation arising from the Eltis report. Curriculum programming, Assessing and Reporting to Parents: Expectations and Support focussed on assessment and reporting and also included proposed reporting pro-formas. These reporting pro-formas incorporated, despite the objections of Federation, the principals organisations and the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations, the Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson imposed requirement that: "The written report will, for English and Mathematics, provide a comparison of student achievement with the achievement of the school."

Federation's response to the DET consultation materials states in part:

"In the Federation's view the lack of clear and concise requirements (or even a policy statement) from the DET has led to an expansion of Assessment and Reporting in schools.

"Because of the absence of meaningful professional development and the lack of sufficient release time to develop more sophisticated and collaborative leadership practices, some primary school executive staff have fallen on a multiple checklist approach: 'Show me where each of the outcomes are in your program, show me where each outcome is in your assessment records and then show me where each outcome is reported on to parents'. In many cases it is expected that this will be accompanied by (at least in English and Maths) student work samples in portfolios which prove that each student has achieved each outcome."

At this stage it is unclear whether the DET response will succeed in reining in such excessive demands.

Jennifer Leete is the Deputy President.

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