School installs software to pinpoint best teachers

Macleans College Principal Byron Bently. Photo / APN

A leading Auckland school is installing state-of-the-art software that will allow it to pinpoint its best-performing teachers - and show up those responsible for poorly performing pupils.

Macleans College, a decile-10 state school in Howick which often scoops top scholarships and has a reputation for high-achieving students, hopes to install a programme called EdReflect.

It will record and analyse student results, allowing the school to learn which teachers have taught students that got the best - and worst - results.

Principal Byron Bentley said the software was "more of a self-appraisal system" and wasn't trying "to find teachers out".

He said its main task was to monitor student performance, and would not be available for parents to check up on under-performing teachers.

The software compares student performance year-on-year and by subject.

The principal said it will enable parents to see their child's performace compared to other students. Teacher performance is kept internal.

Bentley said prominent academic Professor John Hattie, who had published studies on educational research and advised the Government, saw the technology and had a "very favourable" response.

Post Primary Teachers' Association president Robin Duff said the technology could be a good thing if it was used to improve teaching. But the teacher union head was "fairly alarmed" about the concept and feared it could be used "punitively" among "an armoury of sacking devices".

He believed teachers would be nervous about it and questioned if it gave a fair reflection of teachers' work because "teaching and interaction is pretty complex".

He believed parents would welcome the technology, as it would reveal teachers who weren't performing.

A well-placed source in the education sector said that if a teacher had under-performing kids the technology would allow school officials to confront them with a "please explain".

Secondary schools generally did comprehensive analyses of results but the new software was more finely tuned.

Appraisals of teachers were usually done by colleagues who considered classroom delivery, planning and marking.

The software at Macleans could be more "vigorous" and "give the hard facts" on performance of kids and teachers.