Explaining the Socio-Economic Gap in School Completion Rates

Posted on Thursday June 13, 2013

A new study shows that the two main factors in explaining the gap in school completion rates between low and high socio-economic status students are lower education aspirations of low SES students and their parents and lower academic performance at age 15 by low SES students. It suggests that a multi-faceted approach is needed to reduce the gap. < >> Read on...

Closing the Opportunity Gap

Posted on Wednesday May 1, 2013

A new book sets out comprehensive policies to close the opportunity gaps in education. >> Read on...

Social Segregation in Schools is Increasing

Posted on Friday April 19, 2013

Social segregation in Australia’s schools has increased markedly over the past 25 years. Students from low income families are highly concentrated in public schools while private schools have much larger proportions of their enrolments from high income families. >> Read on...

Make or Break Time for Gonski

Posted on Monday February 25, 2013

It is make or break time for the Gonski school funding model. It is imperative that the current inequitable and incoherent funding model be replaced. It is imperative that priority be finally given to funding disadvantaged schools. >> Read on...

New Figures Show No Progress in Reducing Low Student Achievement in the Past 30 Years

Posted on Friday February 22, 2013

New figures show that no progress has been made over the past 30 years in reducing the proportion of students finishing school with only the most basic literacy and numeracy levels. >> Read on...

Inequality Persists in Higher Education in Australia

Posted on Wednesday February 20, 2013

A new paper by academics from the University of Canberra shows that a disproportionately large share of university undergraduates is still drawn from higher socio-economic backgrounds. >> Read on...

Student Background Has a Strong Influence on Achievement

Posted on Thursday December 20, 2012

The latest results from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) confound claims by private school organisations that socio-economic background has little effect on student achievement. The results show a strong connection between socio-economic status and student achievement in Australia and internationally. >> Read on...

New Test Results Reinforce the Case for Action on Gonski

Posted on Friday December 14, 2012

The latests international test results confirm Australia’s highly inequitable education system and reinforce the case for action on the Gonski report recommendation to boost funding for disadvantaged students.< >> Read on...

School Results Stagnate and High Inequity Remains

Posted on Friday November 16, 2012

It seems that all the education reform over the past five years has had little impact. The COAG Reform Council says that school results have stagnated and high inequity remains. >> Read on...

Parent and Student Expectations Influence School Completion Rates

Posted on Tuesday October 30, 2012

A new study has found a large gap between rich and poor in completion of high school in Australia. It also found that students from lower income families are less likely to be encouraged by their parents to complete high school. < >> Read on...

High SES Students Get Better Teaching

Posted on Monday August 20, 2012

A new analysis shows that students from poor backgrounds in Australia have less exposure than wealthy students to teaching practices that are associated with higher results. >> Read on...

High Inequality in Learning Outcomes Demands Action

Posted on Wednesday August 1, 2012

Despite the claims of the Coalition spokesman on education, Christopher Pyne, Australia does have an equity problem in education. International comparisons of school results show high inequality in Australia. < >> Read on...

Pyne Denies the Facts on Inequity in Education

Posted on Monday July 23, 2012

Low income, Indigenous and remote area students can expect little support from a Coalition Government. The Coalition’s spokesman on education, Christopher Pyne, says that Australia does not have an equity problem in education even though low income students are about three years behind their high income peers and Indigenous students are about four years behind. >> Read on...

Many Victorian Schools to Miss Out on Equity Funding

Posted on Thursday July 19, 2012

A school principal comments on changes announced by the Victorian Government to its Education Maintenance Allowance which will see cuts in funding to many schools. >> Read on...

Fund Disadvantaged Students and Everyone Benefits

Posted on Friday February 10, 2012

There has been virtually no change in overall NAPLAN results since 2008, in the results of disadvantaged students and in the large gaps between the results of disadvantaged and advantaged students. >> Read on...

New OECD Report Calls for Greater Fairness in Education

Posted on Wednesday February 8, 2012

A new OECD report on equity and quality in education puts pressure on the Australian Government to come up with a school funding system better targeted at disadvantaged students. >> Read on...

School Funding Should be Better Directed at Reducing Disadvantage

Posted on Wednesday February 1, 2012

A confidential report to the Gonski Review of School Funding says that the Australian school system has become segregated between rich and poor with government funding being spent on supporting school choice rather than reducing the achievement gap between rich and poor. >> Read on...

National Equity Funding Programs are too ‘Hit and Miss’

Posted on Friday December 23, 2011

A study has identified significant problems with the Smarter Schools National Partnerships. The funding is small; it is not well targeted at students or schools and it is not being used in the most effective ways. >> Read on...

Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence and Policy Responses

Posted on Monday December 5, 2011

US scholar says that addressing the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children will require a broader and bolder approach to education policy than the recent efforts to improve education in the US.< >> Read on...

Reform Council Report Highlights Achievement Gaps

Posted on Tuesday November 15, 2011

A new report by the COAG Reform Council shows continuing large achievement gaps between rich and poor in Australia. >> Read on...

Economic Inequality is the Root Cause of Education Inequality

Posted on Friday October 14, 2011

A groundbreaking new book shows that increasing economic inequality is fostering greater educational inequality. >> Read on...

Inequity, Disadvantage and Education Outcomes

Posted on Saturday October 8, 2011

There are shockingly large achievement and income gaps between the richest and poorest schools in Australia. Millions in government funding is wasted on the wealthiest private schools which achieve no better results than high socio-economic government schools even though they have double or more their resources. >> Read on...

Public Education and the Disadvantaged Let Down by Labor

Posted on Wednesday October 5, 2011

There are shockingly large achievement and income gaps between the richest and poorest metropolitan schools in Australia. The key challenge for the Gonski review of school funding is to provide disadvantaged schools with the funding they need to reduce the achievement gap between rich and poor. >> Read on...

Disadvantaged Students Get Less Opportunities in Science

Posted on Thursday June 23, 2011

A new international study shows that disadvantaged students in Australia are, on average, given less opportunity to learn science at school than students from more affluent families. However, some disadvantaged students achieve high results because they get more time on science in school. >> Read on...

Social Segregation in Sydney Schools

Posted on Saturday May 7, 2011

A study of Sydney secondary schools shows increasing ethnic segregation between public and private schools. It says this is a threat to the future of Australian multiculturism. >> Read on...

What is Equity in Education?

Posted on Tuesday March 1, 2011

Equity in education should be seen as a dual objective incorporating an adequate education for all students and similar average outcomes for students from different social groups. >> Read on...

Books at Home Matter

Posted on Friday January 7, 2011

A study of international maths and science test results has found that the highest-scoring countries are those with the least inequality in test scores. It also found that countries in which the number of books in the home is strongly related to individual student test scores tend to have higher average test results and less variation in results. >> Read on...

Comprehensive School Systems Do Better Than Selective Systems

Posted on Wednesday December 15, 2010

An OECD report shows that school systems which group students by ability tend to have lower overall average results and larger achievement gaps between rich and poor than those that provide for all students regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds. >> Read on...

Parents' Effort Key to Child's Educational Performance

Posted on Saturday November 27, 2010

A new study has found that parents’ efforts towards their child’s educational achievement is crucial and plays a more significant role than that of the school or child. It found that socio-economic background is the critical factor in influencing the effort made by parents. >> Read on...

Speech on Achievement Gaps and School Funding in Australia

Posted on Friday October 29, 2010

Speech to the Annual Conference of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia by Trevor Cobbold, National Convenor of Save Our Schools. >> Read on...

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