Australian School Performance Institute

Largely unnoticed alongside the proposed changes to schools funding in the "National Plan for School Improvement", Peter Garrett, Minister for School Education, announced an Australian School Performance Institute (ASPI) to "collect better data about school performance and provide expert help to schools and school systems to help them improve results" (9 April 2013). There were no details of funding for the ASPI, where or when it would be established, or how it would work with existing state, national and international education standards bodies.

It would:

• Lead the development of a new National Data Program to collect a stronger evidence base about how our schools are performing. This new data collection will include information on student results, school and system performance, and the teaching workforce
• Evaluate the data so we get a clear picture of schools that are performing well or are improving, and coordinate and conduct new research to better understand what makes a difference in these schools
• Share information on successful programs and policies with every school in Australia through a new online portal. Schools and education systems would be encouraged to share information about what is working and implement school improvement strategies in their schools.

 From: Australian School Performance Institute, The Hon Peter Garrett MP, Media Release 9 April 2013