The Agitation Hill Lecture

Innovation, creativity and passion are alive and well in schools throughout Australia. However these are increasingly constrained in a command-and-control approach that is leading to an unprecedented level of centralisation, standardisation and bureaucratisation. My concern about the impact of current constraints arises from the experience of these same schools and my ongoing assessment of progress in the ‘education revolution’, the centre piece of the federal government’s policy for schools but to which all states and territories are bound through national partnership agreements. As far as the future of the nation is concerned, my over-arching concern is that innovation, creativity and passion – the key requirements for a vibrant society and a successful economy in the years ahead – are in jeopardy if we continue on our present path. My focus in this presentation is on the impact of high stakes testing