While headlines focused on Indigenous students scoring below non-Indigenous students, the data tells a more nuanced story.
As we recognise the anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this paper asks whether it is time to move from measuring Indigenous students against non-Indigenous benchmarks.
When the results get reported as a straight issue of “performance” this over simplifies a much more complex situation. And is precisely how deficit framing works.
When the benchmark is the non-Indigenous student, the shortfall is located in the Indigenous student – rather than the education system. Or the broader society.
We should instead look to assess whether our education systems are delivering on Indigenous rights, self-determination, and success.
