Federal policy in Australia has rendered poverty invisible. In education, those who attempt to bring poverty back onto the agenda are dubbed excuse makers. A recent macro study by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggested that while parental education, wealth and occupational status are all important factors in tertiary entrance, performance in literacy and numeracy at Year 9 significantly mediates those effects. This was interpreted by the national daily (The Australian 19/01/02, p.16) as 'evidence' that 'theorists of "progressive education" in the 70s and 80s' had 'overstated the importance of socio-economic background' and that meritocracy was just around the corner. Those in the educational community who might wish to contest this 'evidence' and interpretation can draw little joy from a recent radio 'debate' between poverty 'experts' which focussed on techniques of measurement rather than an analysis of poverty and its effects. This paper discusses the ACER study, the radio 'debate' on poverty and makes some suggestions for ways research associations and policymakers can promote more productive discussions.