Equity in schools – let's not forget the quality

In practice, achieving improved education quality requires not more funding, but spending where it makes a difference. This means focussing on early intervention and quality education in the early years. We know that works. It means improving teacher quality and performance in the classroom. It means schools having a better learning environment, good leadership and a focus on achievement. It means having a school system with more parental involvement, more flexible teaching practices and more accountability. It means having education strategies addressing educational disadvantage that is based on evidence about what works for particular students in particular contexts.

It means doing a lot what the non-government sector is doing now.

Education outcomes in the non-government sector are higher than in the government sector. The easy explanation for this difference of course, is that the non-government school population comes from more advantaged backgrounds. This view ignores the social diversity of non-government schools. It also ignores the considerable evidence now available from overseas and Australia to show that non-government school achievement is higher regardless of social background.

Funding policies supporting school choice, autonomy and accountability – in other words, having a vibrant non-government sector are important contributors to achieving greater equity.

Australian education is facing a challenge. Internationally Australian school students are mostly high achievers, performing well above the OECD average. However, the latest PISA results show that relative to other countries, Australia's education outcomes are declining. Australia was the only high performing OECD country to show a significant decline.

It is time we focussed on equity in a way that we know works. It is education quality that counts. Hopefully, the current Gonski review into school funding understands this.