School Improvement Model

186 Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (1 July 2020). Can the minister provide:

(a) The number of schools in each of the 2018 School Improvement Model categories by their 1-7 category of index of educational disadvantage. No identifying information on individual schools is required.

(b) What changes in factors of educational disadvantage led to the change in category for Adelaide High School from category 6 to category 5 in the recent review?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education):

(a) Publishing the number of schools in the way requested would tend to allow the identification of the categories of many schools. The intention of the school improvement categories was not to provide a public performance measure and this information was provided to school principals in 2018 to help them commence school improvement planning.

(b) The changes in educational disadvantage factors that led to a change in category for Adelaide High School from category 6 to category 5 comprise the following:

Mobility Ratio: Adelaide High School's mobility ratio is greater than the government schools average (in 2012 this was lower than the average)

Economic Resource Score: Adelaide High School's economic resource score is lower than the government schools average (in 2012 this was higher than the average).

I note that the categories of disadvantage for South Australian schools had not been updated in many years, with the result that up until 2019 the system had still been relying on 2006 census data. I must admit I was surprised to learn that at no time in the last seven years did the former government update the index based on updated information in the 2011 census.