Controversial Aussie school data website runs into determined opposition from administrators

An Australian government website called My School has met with a furore of opposition from principals, parents, and former students, who have vowed to counteract any negative publicity about their schools published on the site.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 10,000 schools will have information displayed on the site, which will feature data on a number of performance areas. Specific areas of underperformance will be publically identified, the paper writes. Education Minister Julia Gilliard defended the proposal in public, saying that school transparency is important. Gilliard told the news site Adelaide Now that "we're going to shine a light on best practice, celebrate those schools, and then share their best practice".

Adelaide Now reports that the website's data will cover schools from public, Catholic, and independent schools, and said that "the data will be measurable against national literacy, numeracy and language standards."

Opposition political figures took issue with My School, like Christopher Pyne, who told the Morning Herald that the website would allow parents to badger teachers identified on the site.