Martin to contest `league tables' decision in court

The publication of league tables will have a very damaging impact on secondary schools and their pupils, the Minister for Education has claimed.

Announcing a High Court challenge to the Information Commissioner's decision to release information which would allow media to compile the tables, Mr Martin said the issue was "of such significance that it must be decided by the courts".

He said he had no doubt the publication of the tables would enable schools to "cherry-pick" students and lead to the development of "a grind school mentality".

They would also lead to unfair labels being attached to schools.

The Minister said there was a clear conflict between the objective of openly publishing information on the one hand, and educational objectives on the other.

He was concerned that the fear of being placed lower on a league table would undermine the inclusion of children with special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds within a broad range of schools.

The league tables could seriously undermine real choice by discouraging schools who sought to work with weaker children and communities, Mr Martin said.

"A school which helps children who would normally drop out to get a Leaving Certificate or which brings up the performance of weaker students may make a greater contribution to the future of our society than one which only takes the very brightest," he said.

The Minister told reporters that league tables in themselves did not constitute meaningful information.

"Parents need to be able to access information about the schools their children attend, but this information should be soundly based," he said.

"Seeking to compare schools solely on the basis of their examination results and claiming that this empowers informed decision making is fundamentally flawed."

He listed sport, culture, drama, pastoral care and school development planning as areas that would not be taken into account in newspapers' league tables.

Mr Martin said he was absolutely committed to ensuring the education system was accountable.

He wanted to stress his support for "the openness which is at the core of the Freedom of Information Act".

He had worked hard to open up many aspects of the education system and had made the "unprecedented move" of opening individual examination papers for candidates' scrutiny.

The Education Act, 1998, also included measures to increase the amount of information available to parents. Other measures such as Whole School Evaluation and school development planning would help schools to raise standards, inspire excellence and affirm good practice.

In contrast, league tables were "a distraction from the achievement of real accountability".

"Real accountability involves giving parents the right to sit on school boards of management and collaborative reviews which take into account all of the factors faced by schools," he said.

He would not have decided to appeal the Information Commissioner's decision were it not for the fact that he had had "very strong legal advice" that such a challenge had a good chance of succeeding.

While the Minister would not say whether the challenge would seek to have provisions in the 1998 Education Act banning league tables in future applied retrospectively, he later told RTE he would base the appeal both on the Freedom of Information Act and on the Education Act, 1998.

He said a "comprehensive and detailed affidavit" would be lodged with the High Court tomorrow.