myschool.edu.au

[WinstonWolfe]

what's everyone's opinion of this website?

I think it will eventually be a good thing.....only if schools can't gain a consistent advantage at preparing for the tests.

I think a lot of people have been stunned that many expensive private schools don't necessarily get better results. And it is good that this is highlighted. Parents as consumers of education, need objective tools to measure the product a school peddles.

Too often, private schools have a distorted view of what is important i.e. prioritizing the propagation of environmental angst and socialist ideology over teaching science and technology, entrepreneurship, economics and accounting.

I've just spent the last 30 mins scanning Brisbane private and public schools. The results were pretty much what I expected. Those schools with a history of high OP scores also had more dark green bars.....and steiner schools were behind in primary, but seemed to do better in high school.

 

[Neophyte]

Groupings of schools are just bizarre. Look at those that Melbourne High is grouped with.

The thing to notice is not which schools are good at year 3 or 5 but how the relative position changes from year 3 to 9. Year 3 scores are quite dependent on parental input, especially before school age. Kids come into school with a massive range of literacy, some can't read at all, some have been reading sentences for 2 years.

Also note that a school with a very good remedial/special ed program will actually have lower scores since the children who will benefit from extra assistance will be more likely to go there.

Expensive private schools tend to get good results by year 12. They also tend to only become academically focused in the last couple of years, before they that are often very broad and pack a lot of non-core curriculum in (like music, art, leadership, etc....).

 

[MichaelW]

Hi WinstonWolfe,

I think its absolutely brilliant!

But unfortunately it substantiated my concerns that the quality of education isn't as good in Brisbane as it is in Sydney and Melbourne. The best Brisbane High School was Brisbane Grammar with a Year 9 average NAPLAN score of 646. This was bettered in NSW by:

James Ruse Agricultural 736
North Sydney Girls High 712
North Sydney Boys High 703
Sydney Girls High 701
Hornsby Girls High 700
St George Girls High 692
Baulkham Hills High 691
Sydney Boys High 686
Sydney Grammar 683
Girraween High 682
Fort Street High 681
Northern Beaches Secondary College 678
Hurlstone Agricultural 675
Normanhurst Boys High 671
Penrith High 666 (you're kidding me, Penrith!)
Merewether High 666
Smiths High 665
Sydney Technical High 663
Caringbah High 663
Gosford High 661
Conservatorium High 658

And, to top it off, the private GPS school I had enrolled Aden in in Brisbane was Brisbane Boys College. Bottom of the GPS system up here with a dismal 603. About 50 high schools in NSW topped that score. Needless to say I have withdrawn his application. Now we're planning on sending him to the local public school at Rainworth which was near the top of the Year 3 results for all schools in Brisbane. After that we're likely to move back to Sydney so he can have a decent secondary school education.

I note that Victoria had some excellent results too though so its not just a Sydney superior thing.

Great site. Saved me $15K odd a year in private school fees for a school that doesn't even stack up to average Sydney public schools. Even my old rough as guts public school Castle Hill High, where I fondly remember the lack of teacher attention and the need to self drive performance, beat that Year 9 result for GPS Brisbane Boys. Pfft...

Cheers,
Michael

 

[wylie]

Personally, I haven't looked at the site and don't plan to.

We chose our private school for social reasons, one of which was that it was not a snotty elite school, but one with a fantastic community feel. The fact that it also happens to educate our kids pretty well (don't know how it compares) was very much secondary.

If we had a choice of any of those elitist schools or our local state high school, the local would win out every time.

It never ceases to amaze me how hung up some parents get about this stuff. Pffftt!!!!

 

[WinstonWolfe]

But unfortunately it substantiated my concerns that the quality of education isn't as good in Brisbane as it is in Sydney and Melbourne. The best Brisbane High School was Brisbane Grammar with a Year 9 average NAPLAN score of 646.

And I agree Brisbane results are inferior to Syd/Melb.

As a Qld'er who was head hunted to Sydney when I was 21, my insight into this is that most national and international companies have headquarters in Sydney and Melbourne. And Brisbane's smarter cohort tends to migrate south to employment in head offices.

Further, Brisbane's climate and more casual lifestyle, attracts many from Sydney and Melbourne who have not found success and happiness in their home town. Logan, Moreton, and Caboolture shires are highly represented by nsw and victorian interstate migrants.

edit:
btw michael, did you go through all those schools and make your own table? or did you find a resource somewhere.....if so, am interested in viewing it.

and considering the general higher diligence of many migrant children, and the higher portion of migrants in Syd/Melb, I would think this helps lift southern state results.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Groupings of schools are just bizarre. Look at those that Melbourne High is grouped with.

I am ignoring the 'sim' rating....and taking note of 'all' and raw scores.

 

[sunshine]

I note that Victoria had some excellent results too though so its not just a Sydney superior thing.

I am wondering if the results can really be compared. Qld kids started school at 6 years in grade one until compulsory Prep was introduced recently. So I think other states SHOULD be higher than Qld, considering an extra year of learning.

I don't care much for this website either. After beginning their schooling at a Private school in NSW, then moving to a State school in Qld, we have chosen a private School and pay a fortune for the kids education and they are very, very happy. For us the difference is a thousand miles apart and worth every cent. We don't care about tests and how well the school does, the teachers and students at the school far outweigh these IMHO. We put no pressure on our kids to perform. They know that to do their best is all that is expected.

Like most of us on this forum, we know that you don't have to be a highly skilled worker to create wealth.

Sunshine

 

[MichaelW]

btw michael, did you go through all those schools and make your own table? or did you find a resource somewhere.....if so, am interested in viewing it.

Yes I made my own table for Brisbane schools I was interested in but I also found the Sydney detail posted above online.

I've attached the table I made here for the Brisbane schools as none was readily available in the media. I added a few other Sydney Schools I was interested in to that attached table too so its a bit random. But SMH today has published the Top 50 league tables today here. Links to the actual league tables for primary and secondary are included within that article under "top of the class". For whatever reason my browser didn't like the primary school table though so I could only print the secondary one out this morning.

For quick reference, the Brisbane top schools I found looked like this:

Brisbane Grammar School 646
Brisbane State High School 635
St Peters Lutheran College 626
St Joseph's College, Brisbane 626
Brisbane Boys College 603
Indooroopilly State High School 593
Ascot State School 585
Robina State High School 567

That's not all of them, just a random selection but I think I got all the GPS schools in there. Broadly speaking a score above 700 was great, a score above 650 very good, a score above 600 good and forget about the rest. Hence why I'm going to send my boy to Brisbane Grammar if we're still in Brisbane in 10 years time, or else any number of good schools in Sydney that fit the bill. There's only one state school in Brisbane which even makes the 600 or above list and that's Brisbane State High School. And it improves its numbers by picking 70 students a year on merit for scholarships and competes with the GPS schools in sports etc. Its GPS in all but name. The lowest score in the Top 50 Sydney schools linked above was 611...

Cheers,
Michael

 

[wylie]

We know a young lad at one of the BEST schools in Brisbane. In his first year, he did about two to three hours of homework at night, after his compulsory sport. He is absolutely miserable, but MUST go there because that is where his dad went.

This school is absolutely the wrong school for this lad and I fear for his future and sanity as the years roll on. But it is SUCH a good school .

Sunshine, you and I sound like we think the same way. Kudos to you.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

We know a young lad at one of the BEST schools in Brisbane. In his first year, he did about two to three hours of homework at night, after his compulsory sport. He is absolutely miserable, but MUST go there because that is where his dad went.

This school is absolutely the wrong school for this lad and I fear for his future and sanity as the years roll on. But it is SUCH a good school .

Sunshine, you and I sound like we think the same way. Kudos to you.

What's wrong with 2-3 hours of homework every night, after daily exercise? That was the norm in my family. (and we all got >90th percentile grades and one was dux every year).

What does a high school student have to do at night that is more important than homework?

If kids are absolutely miserable because they have to do homework, then they need to experience poverty and hunger to regain perspective.

 

[MichaelW]

We put no pressure on our kids to perform. They know that to do their best is all that is expected.

Like most of us on this forum, we know that you don't have to be a highly skilled worker to create wealth.

Sunshine

Hi Sunshine,

I agree completely!

However, I consider "opportunity" to be a very important consideration also. If I look back at my schooling as an example, I was consistently in the top 5% of every class but got report cards saying "does not perform to his potential". My teachers knew I was coasting but didn't have the resources available to get that extra 10% out of me. As a result I ended up achieving a very good HSC result but it should have been exceptional.

I know its going to sound boastful, but I have an IQ of 135 and recently won the University Medal for the highest overall result in my Masters in Business Administration at the AGSM. So I am a very intelligent person who is capable of achieving great things when I try. Unfortunately, in my HSC I achieved a TES of 75% when I should have been in the high 90's. I spent the entire two week study vacation leading up to the HSC exams playing golf as I wanted to see how good I would do if I did zero prep. I'd long ago proven to myself I could beat almost everyone if I applied myself so started loafing around instead as that still achieved results which left me in the top quartile. That was good enough, and the teachers didn't have the time or inclination to get me to actually try. When given the option I intentionally chose the hardest questions in the exam papers to challenge myself instead of the ones I knew I could answer easily. I remember answering one English essay question on a book I had only skimmed instead of the ones I had read because I figured I could still do well and was bored of repeating those other books ad nauseum.

I don't want the same thing to happen with my boy. I want to send him to the very best school available where resources are not an issue and where the teaches actively take an interest in his performance and help him to achieve 100% of his potential. That's all.

I should have gone to the best selective school in Sydney, James Ruse was just around the corner from Castle Hill High, but my parents figured I didn't need to as I performed "well enough" without doing so. But there was no challenge so I got bored and mentally rebelled. I want my boy to not just perform "well enough" but to "100% of his potential". As any loving parent, I just want the very best for my boy. I sincerely apologise if my logic sounds elitist but I can afford it and can't think of anything better to put my money towards than my childs education. Doodads come and go, a good education lasts a lifetime.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Amadio]

What does a high school student have to do at night that is more important than homework?

Dream, converse with the family, think, read, develop some hobbies, get off the damn computer.

 

[wylie]

Dream, converse with the family, think, read, develop some hobbies, get off the damn computer.

Absolutely.... and skateboard, climb trees, play soccer. This boy was only twelve years old doing this high pressure homework, high pressure extra curricular stuff. He was not coping, but was forced to cope by his father. He is fragile now and I fear for what is to come.

He had to give up his beloved club sport because school was taking up all his time. I think it is rather sad.

I could put pressure on my youngest but it is not my style. I expect him to perform to the best of his ability (or near the best) but I went to Brisbane State High School and unless you were a sporting or academic hero, you were invisible. I believe the same thing happens at some elite schools, and I do know that some kids are asked to stay home when the tests are done for measuring the school's outcomes. Like any figures, they can and are manipulated.

And Michael, I hope if your kids find they cannot cope at an elite school (or any school for that matter) that you don't keep the pressure on them to perform. They don't have to be a "mini you". Some kids take longer to get their HSC and some manage to do quite well without it.

 

[amazing_venice]

I think the website is a great 'starting point', to explore the options available in your given area. I don't, however, feel it's a holistic approach, and I would advise people not to base their choice purely on these results. Go for a tour, talk to the principal and get a good feel / understanding of things that are important to your children.

And don't mean to offend, but I really want to support the public system (Mike, I went to Castle Hill High also, for year 11 & 12 - Hornsby Girls High for years 7-10 - let me just say, BIG difference in education delivery between the two!) and it's reassuring to see that some public schools are stacking up nicely compared to some of the private schools.

I do think that it's a good tool for the government to identify those schools that are struggling, and candidates for further resourcing and budgets.

Cheers
AV

 

[RumpledElf]

Dream, converse with the family, think, read, develop some hobbies, get off the damn computer.

You mean talk, argue with the family, talk, read, watch tv, talk, and complain about not being allowed on the computer?

When do they get old enough to develop hobbies?

Only two schools here. The private school with a bare handful of students ranks considerably higher than the public one with several hundred students, strangely enough. The Child ranked off the scale on those silly tests for anything vaguely related to talking though.

 

[MichaelW]

I think the website is a great 'starting point', to explore the options available in your given area. I don't, however, feel it's a holistic approach, and I would advise people not to base their choice purely on these results. Go for a tour, talk to the principal and get a good feel / understanding of things that are important to your children.

Again, agree completely. We have already done this for the shortlisted schools we are considering in Brisbane. I did like the look of St Peters. Great grounds and great sporting facilities. Word of mouth from ex teacher is that the new Principle hasn't been that good for the school though. Might yet end up sending him here though.

And don't mean to offend, but I really want to support the public system (Mike, I went to Castle Hill High also, for year 11 & 12 - Hornsby Girls High for years 7-10 - let me just say, BIG difference in education delivery between the two!) and it's reassuring to see that some public schools are stacking up nicely compared to some of the private schools.

So what was the difference and which shool in your opinion was better? I didn't mind Castle Hill High, it was just that it was a very big school with too many students for the teachers to know them on a personal basis. At least that was my experience.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[amazing_venice]

Hey Mike

Hornsby Girls, without a doubt (and this was before they went selective). The relationships I had with my teachers were miles and leaps over the ones that I had at CHH. I loved my teachers, and in return wanted to do well for them. At CHH I witnessed the teachers dote on the 'jocks' and forget the rest of us - and I am pretty sure there were a few days I didn't go to school that didn't even get registered ;o)

 

[sunshine]

As a result I ended up achieving a very good HSC result but it should have been exceptional.

I am genuinely interested Michael in how do you think your life would have turned out if you did give 100% and got an exceptional HSC result? What would be different ,career, goal and wealth wise? I ask this as a Public School year 10 SC leaver who also didn't put in 100%.

I want to send him to the very best school available where resources are not an issue and where the teaches actively take an interest in his performance and help him to achieve 100% of his potential. That's all.

Do you think that the new website will help find the school with these resources and teachers? By the way that is exactly why our kids go where they go.

I sincerely apologise if my logic sounds elitist but I can afford it and can't think of anything better to put my money towards than my childs education. Doodads come and go, a good education lasts a lifetime.

From one elitist to another I believe it is no one else's business where we decide to educate (or how much we pay to educate) our children, as long as we are doing it for the child's benefit.

I am genuinely interested in how you think the website will help you find the right school for your son based on their test scores. I think encouraging our children to find their passion and follow their dreams brings a far greater reward than gaining high marks.

I already know that you are an intelligent person by your posts. You also seem to have a fulfilling and satisfying life. I am very interested to know if there is something that you feel that you missed out on due to your schooling.

Sunshine

 

[weg]

Interesting website but lacks far too much info to be used solely as a tool for deciding which school to send your child.

I like many parents place emphasis on the social aspect, the schools ethos, as well as how it deals with situations, both personal and academic.

For eg. some schools do expect 2 to 3 hrs homework a night at the start of highschool, and many parents want this knowing their child will benefit and learn to appreciate it.

My child thinks it's very normal, but still finds the time to work, (will reduce from 6 to 3 1/2 hrs per week soon) skateboard, play football, go to the gym and socialize.

He's in year 12 this year and I believe he'll cope very well, moreso because of what his high school has helped him achieve with study habits, self esteem and his desire to do well.

Interestingly, I noted one particular combined school performed quite well in primary, yet a much smaller than normal percentage completed year 12 ???

A lot more info on the latter years, and end result of the combined schools would be helpful.

 

[zargor1]

Despite me thinking that the website is a red herring, I have to congratulate Guillard for pushing this.

By promoting this site, not only does she raise her education portfolio in the public mind, she also paves the way for a lot of union action, in future, when teachers start getting the chop and/or being moved around to placate certain factors.

Oh hang on! Guillard was union lawyer, wasn't she? Tsshh, silly of me.

Zargor

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