The current approach to education in Australia, as reflected in the New South Wales Bilateral Agreement and national funding models, underscores an increasing reliance on neoliberal principles. These policies prioritise efficiency, accountability, and standardised performance metrics, shaping education into a market-driven enterprise where schools and students are treated as economic units rather than as participants in a holistic learning process. While the Student Resource Allocation model aims to address funding inequities, its gradual implementation over a decade highlights the continued prioritisation of economic pragmatism over immediate and meaningful educational reform.

A fundamental concern with this approach is the intensification of standardised testing as a primary tool for assessing school and student performance. The Minns Government’s reinforcement of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy exemplifies this shift, portraying standardised testing as a mechanism for accountability. However, such an outcomes-based framework prioritises quantifiable results over the development of well-rounded, empathetic individuals. Education, when structured around rigid assessment mechanisms and performance indicators, risks undermining its core purpose: to nurture individuals who think critically, value lifelong learning, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

While standardised testing is often justified as a means of measuring student achievement and guiding policy decisions, it remains an insufficient and flawed tool for cultivating values-driven, compassionate graduates. A growing body of research indicates that an over reliance on standardised assessments contributes to curriculum narrowing, increased stress levels, and systemic inequities, all of which undermine efforts to foster well-prepared, empathetic graduates.

When standardised test scores become the primary measure of success, schools frequently prioritise subjects such as literacy and numeracy while deprioritising essential areas like ethics, humanities, creative arts, and social studies. These subjects are critical for fostering empathy, civic engagement, and a strong moral compass, yet they are often overshadowed by test-focused instruction. Studies have shown that the increasing focus on NAPLAN has led many schools to reduce time spent on inquiry-based learning and emotional intelligence development, thereby failing to cultivate graduates who can navigate complex social and ethical challenges.

Moreover, the government’s belief that encouraging “strong writing pedagogy rather than ‘teaching to the test’,” will foster creativity fails to acknowledge the fundamental contradiction in this approach. True creative and critical engagement emerges from exploration, dialogue, and self-reflection, not from rigid assessment structures that prioritise mechanical accuracy over thoughtful expression.

Beyond its impact on the curriculum, the high-stakes nature of standardised testing imposes significant psychological pressure on students and teachers. Research has consistently found that students subjected to intense assessment environments experience heightened stress, anxiety, and reduced self-esteem, with some even developing negative attitudes toward learning. This environment diminishes students’ intrinsic motivation, turning education into an anxiety-inducing pursuit rather than an enriching journey of intellectual and personal growth.

Teachers, too, face considerable pressure to ensure their students perform well on standardised tests, often leading to burnout, disillusionment, and a focus on rote learning rather than transformative education. A national teacher survey on Australia’s NAPLAN standardised tests found that 90% of teachers reported students experiencing severe stress before exams, with cases of students crying, experiencing physical illness, or losing sleep due to test-related anxiety. This competitive, high-pressure approach is incompatible with fostering graduates who are compassionate, well-adjusted, and purpose-driven.

Standardised testing further exacerbates social and economic inequalities, as test content often reflects cultural biases and privileges students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Rather than serving as a neutral measure of academic ability, standardised assessments frequently reinforce existing disparities, making it more difficult for marginalised students to succeed.

The Minns Government has asserted that its policies prioritise “equity-focused interventions to close educational gaps”, but such statements ring hollow when the education system continues to emphasise competitive ranking over collaborative learning, and numerical performance over moral and civic responsibility. Schools should be centres of community development, where students learn not only academic content but also how to engage ethically with the world around them.

If the goal of education is to produce well-rounded, empathetic graduates with a strong sense of purpose and community responsibility, then policymakers must rethink their reliance on standardised metrics and market-driven reforms. A transformative approach to education would emphasise:

1. Holistic assessment methods – Moving beyond NAPLAN and other high-stakes tests to embrace portfolio assessments, project-based learning, and reflective evaluations that capture a student’s intellectual and ethical development rather than just test performance.
2. Restoring the humanities and civic education – Placing renewed emphasis on history, philosophy, social studies, and the arts to ensure that students are exposed to diverse perspectives and equipped with critical thinking skills necessary for ethical decision-making.
3. Wellbeing-centred learning environments – Reducing the pressures of high-stakes testing and shifting toward learning spaces that promote emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and inter-personal skills, ensuring that students graduate as compassionate individuals who can contribute meaningfully to society.
4. Collaboration over competition – Shifting the focus from performance-based competition between schools to a collaborative education system that prioritises shared learning experiences, community engagement, and collective problem-solving.

The dominance of neoliberal policies and standardised testing in education has led to a system that prioritises quantifiable outcomes over meaningful learning, failing to equip students with the skills, values, and sense of purpose necessary for contributing to a just and compassionate society. If the goal is to create empathetic, well-prepared graduates who understand their role in the world, then education must move away from rigid market-based models and toward a transformative, student-centred approach. The future of education must be one that values knowledge, emotional intelligence, social responsibility, and creativity, ensuring that students are not merely test-takers, but thoughtful, engaged, and compassionate members of their communities.