Parents ‘in dark’ on study reforms
EDUCATION Minister Grace Grace has committed to ramping up efforts to inform Queenslanders about the sweeping changes to the senior schooling system, amid claims high school parents feel confused about the move away from the OP system.
Ms Grace told News Corp she had reconvened her senior studies taskforce, comprising key education stakeholders, and asked that they focus on how to better communicate key details of the new Queensland Certificate of Education.
Changes to the system include the abolition of the Overall Position in favour of a new nationally consistent Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the introduction of external exams for Year 12 subjects, and the ending of the Queensland Core Skills Test.
But Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has criticised the implementation of the major changes, saying even the parents of the first guinea-pig year were in the dark about much of how the new system would work.
Ms Frecklington, who has a daughter in Year 11 this year, said teachers were trying their best to keep parents informed but often lacked answers to key questions themselves.
“As a parent and a politician, I am very concerned,” Ms Frecklington said. “It’s two minutes to midnight and we’re trying to work out how this is going to impact our children.
“I have a nephew in the same year and among my friendship group, there is a major level of, not misunderstanding, but a lack of understanding about what the system is going to be and how it is going to be implemented.”
Queensland Catholic Education executive director LeeAnne Perry said parent information nights had been popular and the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority had provided presentations and fact sheets.
David Robertson, Independent Schools Queensland executive director, said while parents were engaging with schools, further steps could be taken to explain the changes.
Mark Breckenridge, president of the Queensland Secondary Principals’ Association, said there was “absolutely more to do” in communicating the changes.