Parents and carers across the country can now access new profile information on their children’s schools and the latest school-level NAPLAN data with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) updating its My School website.
Chief Executive of ACARA, David de Carvalho said the website provided data on schooling right across Australia, “helping parents, carers, schools and Governments to understand the performance of schools”.
“It’s an important resource for parents to make informed decisions about their children’s schooling,” Mr de Carvalho said.
“As well as providing an overview of the approach and focus of each school, My School gives parents and carers information on student and teacher numbers, attendance rates, income and expenditure, and NAPLAN results,” he said.
“It also provides teachers with important insights into school performance, supporting and driving improvements across the nation.”
Mr de Carvalho said the 2023 My School update included 2022 school profile and population data; 2022 school attendance data; 2022 NAPLAN results for schools; 2021 school financial information, including capital expenditure and funding sources; and 2021 post-school destinations data.
He said the website’s Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) indicated the average educational advantage of each school’s students.
“It is calculated using information about parents/carers’ occupations and education, school geographical location and the proportion of Indigenous students,” the ACARA Executive said.
“A school’s ICSEA value is provided to encourage taking socio-educational advantage into account when comparing school achievement,” he said.
“The My School update shows a decline in students’ attendance during Semester 1 (Term 1 and 2) and Term 3, 2022, but this can be attributed to the impacts of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak, high influenza outbreaks and floods experienced in some regions of Australia during that time.”
ACARA’s My School website can be accessed at this PS News link.
