ACE Perspectives June 09

Education minister Julia Gillard will come under pressure from within her own party to take steps to ensure national testing data can't be used to produce simplistic league tables. Labor backbenchers have told principals they support their position against school league tables. Several MPs with legal backgrounds have also offered to work with principals to identify legislative options that would prevent their publication.

This issue's other top stories are:

Off to a good start: A major new longitudinal study aims to discover what exactly quality early childhood education in Australia looks like and what effects different programs have on children.

Rewarding relationships: Students who have good relationships with their teachers achieve better academic outcomes, new research has confirmed.

On unfamiliar ground: Education experts are divided over a new study's claims that teaching out-of-field is more common in Independent and Catholic schools than in Public schools.

Power to the principal: School accountability has never been greater but principal autonomy is being eroded, especially in the government system.

Agitation nation: Unless teachers refuse to administer the tests, it seems league tables are a fait accompli, writes Professor Brian Caldwell.

Keen for green: How schools can counter the environmental impact of the digital education revolution.

Head to head: Jane Caro and Kevin Donnelly debate the government's controversial school funding formula for government and private schools.

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