Does a students ENTER Score reflect their socio-economic ...



ENTER Score Verses Social Economic Classes

Academic achievement always comes down to a number. It is a number that identifies us, labels us and determines the pathways of our future. Every year, thousands of Victorian students wait with high anticipation for their Victorian Certificate of Education, VCE, results. Their entire schooling career is summed up within this single numerical value and with it brings the key to an exciting future or the tragic lament of limitations, socio-class labels and inequality. This number, for many Victorian students reflects more so their postal code region rather than a true reflection of their academic potential.

Since the early 1970s educational disadvantage has been noted as something that needs to be compensated for but for whatever reason can not be eliminated. (Teese, 2006) We can’t ignore the fact that disadvantaged schools exist, furthermore that their student’s postal address all have similar numbers in common. However, the pursuit for equality in education seems to stumble over the same hurdle, equal outcomes.

It seems that any student from certain postal-code areas or low socio-economic class families might be consolidated by having a more comfortable learning experience but never given a true, or at least an equal opportunity to achieve results which will assist in escaping their surroundings. Meadmore (2004) suggest that, the degree of difficulty in realistically changing their place in the social hierarchy depends on their circumstances as well as their capacity to overcome structural obstacles of social class.

The clear reality is that socio-economic class does exist and they are divided by the suburbs east and west of Melbourne. The schools that reside on either side loudly echo the truth that disadvantage schools for the large majority lay within the Western Region of Melbourne.

It has become one of the most defining acts of exclusive education in Victoria. The fact that money plays a major role in the opportunity given, not only for learning, but the results that student will achieve, automatically marginalizes the low socio-economic background students. Their achievements on average will be lower ranked then their wealthier counterparts and the high achieving success stories will be significantly of a lower percentage to those with a post code east of the Yarra.

This exclusion of education has two faces, one the inequality of opportunity to learn and secondly the inequalities of opportunity to achieve highest possible results, in our case a high ENTER score. Both these exclusions result in the experienced failure of many students denied these opportunities to achieve, but are still kept on at school. (Teese, 2000) Students from disadvantage schools, whether low socio-economic or rural schools, are kept in at school but never given a chance to naturally achieve the results from higher more expensive schools.

This is reflected by the number of VCE Units of study available at each school. Deer Park, Braybrook, Kealba and Debney Park Secondary College all offered a combined total of 81 different VCE Units of study. Debney Park, only offered 16 in 2009, whilst Braybrook was highest offering 34. However, schools such as Melbourne High and Glen Waverley Secondary College, alone offer more that half that amount of VCE subjects. (VCAA, 2010) Clear indications of the exclusive opportunities created at these schools to increase the potential of success.

The notion of inequality of opportunity is not a new issue nor is it one that has not been explored in the past and been given much attention to by governments and politics to restore some sort of balance and cohesion. Since the 1973 Karmel report, we have been very aware of the overwhelming social disadvantage that poorer suburban schools have. (Teese, 2006)

This major issue of lack of opportunity opens the discussion for minor issues such as, parents being selective of which schools to send their children, higher achieving schools attracting the better students from poorer schools in terms of enrollment, higher fees to give schools reputation of a better education system providing guarantee a higher average success, entrance tests to exclusive or selective schools, experienced teachers leaving disadvantage schools for better quality of students and this is all due to the fact that the un-wanted student pool is left for enrolment within disadvantage schools, thus securing their low level of results again and again and again. (Teese, 2003)

It is a never ending cycle, produced by businesses expectations and want for higher achievers. Universities such as Melbourne and Monash, increasing the level of their entrance scores to have the best achieving group of students enrolled in their lectures. It results on immense pressure for schools to produce high quality results and thus the pressure is passed down to the many faculty staff and teachers trying to achieve these results within the resources available to them. Therefore it’s logic for experienced teachers to release themselves from some of those pressures by outworking their craft at the better advantage schools. Leaving disadvantage schools with low success rates and their students overcoming greater obstacles in order to achieve desired results.

The inequality of these results is made clear by the percentage of VCE success rates and the median average, in comparison of advantage and disadvantage schools. Although VCE success rates are quite similar it is interesting to see the comparison of median study scores for 2009 across the socio-economic plane. Braybrook College, for example, has 100% success rate for a school deemed to be disadvantaged as suggested by the My School Website, however only posting an average study score of 27 and only having 5% of its school scoring study scores of 40 or above. Compare this to, Mount Waverley Secondary College, who also appreciates a 100% success rate of its VCE students, but has an average study score of 33 and 15% of the school having a study score of 40 or above. (VCAA, 2010)

Other comparisons are Keilor Downs Secondary College whose average study score of 27 being one of the highest amongst disadvantage western suburban schools, still only has 2% of its 243 VCE students obtaining study scores of 40 or higher. That is to say that only 5 students out of 243 were able to obtain high study score results in VCE.

Melbourne High, has over 40% of its 682 VCE enrolled students in 2009, scoring 40 or higher study scores. That translates to 273 of their students given the opportunity to have high results, compared to the low percentages of disadvantage schools. In fact Werribee Secondary College had the highest result of 40 plus study scores with only 5%. The stark reality is that on average schools with an eastern suburban post code doubled the percentage of students obtaining 40 plus study scores and had significant higher medians to those of their western counterparts. (VCAA, 2010)

Can these barriers to education, better said these limitations to a student’s potential, ever become obsolete? Will disadvantage schools and students, along with their families and low socio-economic backgrounds ever overcome the inequalities and exclusive nature of our curriculum?

Teese argues, that they are two different worlds, one where inner-east schools have managed to minimize and neutralize the threat posed to them; leaving north-western schools trailing behind to the demands and threats of this curriculum. (Teese, 2003)

Does that mean that we will forever have the segregation of disadvantage schools and their inability of producing consistent higher VCE results? It is interesting in answering these questions, the manner in which Governments have been attempting to compensate disadvantage schools. Their increase number of funds and now the notion and establishment of the Naplan tests and the My School Website only seem to highlight and make more public the segregation and the disadvantage that these schools are in.

It is interesting to note that since 2007 the alternatives to VCE such as VCAL and VET programs have increased in participation numbers within these north-western disadvantage schools. Yet the inner-eastern schools such Caulfield Grammar, Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Xavier College and Melbourne High have no VCAL enrolled students, and very minor difference in their VET enrolled students.

It seems that disadvantage students, typically from low socio-economic backgrounds that are found in inner-eastern schools or beyond the point of hope in obtaining successful results are encouraged or advised to enroll and pursue alternative education such as VCAL or VET. This is a form of compensation or filter conducted by schools in order to post results that give them a better rank or reputation. (Santander, 2010)

There is minimal scholarship availability for low-socio economic students wanting to pursue an academic career at exclusive and expensive schools. However, the money being funded by the Government to improve facilities at disadvantage schools does not target the major and minor issues of this topic.

Although I agree with Teese, in that it is time for innovation to see how we can best teach, retain and engage students from disadvantage situations. (Teese, 2006) I can see that the immediate concern and alteration must take place with our mindset and perception of low socio-economic students and disadvantage schools.

Having observed many students at these disadvantage schools and being the product of a low socio-economic family background striving by many means to financially compete with the middle class advantages. I believe that it is the mindset of the educational system that doesn’t value nor give permission for the true potential of students from disadvantage and low socio-economic backgrounds to achieve high academic results.

They are labeled; they are given unspoken, unwritten limitations to their potential at both secondary and tertiary level. The number of their postal code will forever follow them and despite being the few the 1-4% of their school that managed to achieve results equal to those of advantage schools. They are still smothered with the barriers and overwhelming obstacles because of that one number, their post code.

The call for innovation by educational experts and Government agencies funding will never cease to be able to obliterate the segregation of the advantage and the disadvantage schools. Only because the mindset and perception of our society is still heavily founded and based on cultural and socio-economical status.

The ENTER score and whatever system precedes it, if ever, will never be a true indication of a student’s academic achievement. It will always be exploited by powers that control and establish the social classes of our society and therefore be more or less an indication of a student’s postal address.

Word Count: 1726

Reference:

Burnett, B. Meadmore, D. Tait, G. (Eds), (2004), New Questions for Contemporary Teachers Taking a Socio-Cultural Approach to Education, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forrest, NSW.

My School Website, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2010, Sydney, viewed 10 April 2010,

Santander, C. Coombs, T. (2010) Conversation about VCAL Students, Harvester Technical College

Teese, R. (2006), ‘Condemned to Innovate’, Griffith REVIEW Edition 11 – Getting Smart: The Battle for Ideas in Education, Griffith University

Teese, R. Polesel, J. (2003), ‘Selecting a Way to Success’, The Age, 2 April, p. 20.

Teese, R. (2000), Academic Success and Social Power Examinations and Inequality, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Victoria, Australia.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2010, Post Compulsory Completion and Achievement Information 2009, Melbourne, viewed 10 April 2010,

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2010, Post Compulsory Completion and Achievement Information 2007, Melbourne, viewed 10 April 2010,

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