The Nous Group has written a report for the Review of Funding for Schooling outlining what it sees as the challenges and opportunities facing Australian schools. It discusses the impact of residualisation of public schools on student performance as measured by PISA tests. In comparison to other OECD nations, the impact of school disadvantage on student performance is worst in Australia. The result is an overall decline in literacy and numeracy scores. The Nous paper raises this issue as both an equity and an economic concern.
The current federal government formula for funding schools is reducing Australia's productivity growth and its international competitiveness. The funding of private schools is concentrating high performing middle-SES students into private schools. The evidence shows that these schools are not "value-adding" to these students' performances thus the public funding is wasted. But on the other hand, the resulting residualisation of low-SES students in public schools is lowering their performance as they miss out on the benefits of mixing with more-able peers. The current federal government's schools funding model is causing an overall lowering of school performance on PISA measures. The result for a high-skilled economy such as Australia is a decline in productivity growth and the creation of a class of citizens who do not have the required knowledge and skills to participate in the modern workplace.
The Nous paper makes it clear that the current federal funding model is the cause of a generation of lost productivity, wasted public finances and the entrenchment of demographic disadvantage in Australian society. It would be a monumental failure of democratic policy making if either side of politics fails to address public policy that is harming economic growth and undermining the opportunities of its citizens.
It is an interesting scenario that Australia has found itself in. Clearly it is better for our students and our nation to acknowledge that Public Education (despite it challenges) provides a superior education for our communities. With this in mind, why would the government poor money into schools that are less efficient, do not provide the high level of education our students need and exclude broad sections of our community?
ReplyDeleteIt's time to start giving Public Education the funding it deserves.