Private schools with students from advantaged backgrounds are dominating the ACT's top academic results, with yesterday's launch of the My School website showing a divide between government and non-government schools.
In analysis of the website data conducted by The Canberra Times, Canberra Girls' Grammar, Radford College and Canberra Grammar School were among those consistently scoring near or at the top of the five measured testing areas of reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar and numeracy across Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Each of the three schools performed considerably better than the national average, were on par or slightly better in most categories when compared to statistically similar schools and were ranked by the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority as among those with the highest socio-educational advantage in the territory.
Blue Gum Community School topped Year 7 writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation and numeracy. Torrens Primary, ranked towards the middle in the ACT in terms of socio-educational advantage, was one of the highest-ranked public schools in Year 5 in the ACT and outperformed similar schools nationally. (For a full list of test results and socio-educational rankings see pages 4-6 of today's Canberra Times).
A number of public schools in the Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Weston Creek areas received the lowest raw test scores in the ACT, with Richardson Primary, Caroline Chisholm School, and Macgregor Primary consistently scoring some of the lowest scores across all subjects in Years 3 and 5, along with Jervis Bay Primary. All scored below the national average, with most near or below the national average in terms of educational advantage.
For more on this story, including the response of ACT Education Minister Andrew Bar, see today's Canberra Times.
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