While the wig will forever be the joke, the damage to Victorian education and its people emerging from this period (IBAC Betka, Dunham and Ord) is unfathomable. https://t.co/oaCzixJuOA
— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 6, 2020
Tag: Marten Koomen
I’m neither shocked by developments in DET (Victoria) or by Milligan’s dumbfounded reaction, but both are unfortunate. 1/
Since the late 1980s, and particularly through the Kennett years, management of schools has devolved and decentralised. This has been consistent with community expectations. There is no central standard issue toilet paper or hand sanitiser. Schools have funds to manage this. 2/
The current model of school management (broadly described as neoliberal) has many issues. Nevertheless ABC journalism has supported this model through programs such as “Revolution School” and the 4 corners “Digi Kids”, which I described as a puff piece and I stand by this. 3/
There is consistent evidence that this model of system management has failed (IBAC Dunham and Ord, PISA NAPLAN results etc). I have seen no journalist engage with these bigger issues. It’s mainly superficial reporting of facts with emotive interpretation. /4
Marten Koomen highlights the issues with supplies in state school and how this relates to the current challenges around funding.
Thank you Marten for the link to this, it is intriguing to think how the models we build upon can morph into the natural way of being as if there are no other alternatives.
The treatment of culture is something that really stood out when I
a few years ago.Marten Koomen responds to the suggestion of having Year 9 NAPLAN test linked to future job applications.
1) My academic work addresses disengagement between system and citizen, which I've generally approached from student as citizen. This quote from Merlino shows the system disengaging from its citizenry.
System and citizen have now dehumanised the other in education.— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
2) there are several 'technical' reasons why NAPLAN is disengaged from students.
i) Trend reporting distorts test content (paper under review)
ii) Standard errors means many students are not accurately reported
iii) NAPLAN online cannot be validly equated with paper-based— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
3) Margaret Wu, the developer of the software that scales NAPLAN, has written extensively about the standard errors in NAPLAN, and how NAPLAN results cannot be used to make inferences about students. Here just one
— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
4) Related to the standard error issue, is that NAPLAN online purports to more reliable (lower standard errors) but this violates that the second requirement for equating (a bit technical)
von Davier, A. (Ed.) (2011). Statistical models for test equating, scaling, and linking.β¬οΈ pic.twitter.com/PLI0XXcqqw— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
5) I understand Merlino has largely left system management to bureaucrats who are now largely informed by corporate consultancy firms. These are distinct from the eduDrivel the floats on top of the teaching profession. This is where system-citizen disengagement emerges.
— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
6) IMO the best way to burst this bubble is for there to be a legal challenge to NAPLAN, which could be mounted on the basis of a student being adversely affected for example. This will not happen, the industry has power players. But I'm here to help. End thread, thanks.
— Marten Koomen (@tulip_education) August 27, 2019
I love this Marten
This sounds really interesting Marten. Look forward to reading your article. Does Knud Illeris theory of learning also fit this discussion?
The inability of NAPLAN to reflect broader developments in society is being exposed by the transition to NAPLAN online. The latest NAPLAN controversy is not the result of a glitch or technical incompetence. Instead, the controversy exposes a broader conceptual problem in Australian education. Australian policy-makers and commentators have been spoiled by Australia coming of high-base of educational performance, and by an abundance of educational data that allows for broad and sweeping policy commentary. However, this approach is leading to a continued decline in Australian educational achievement. NAPLAN online exposes the need to reconnect educational assessment with the world that students experience.
Art tells us that educational assessment simply produces symbols that are at best a pale reflection of a preconceived reality. These symbols can be distorted and exploited, until one day their utility will diminish, and a new dawn will emerge.
I have been thinking a bit about technology lately and how we define it. This short reflection is inspired in part by Audrey Watters, Marten Koomen and Ben Williamson. In the end, technology comes in many shapes and sizes.