Independent school students two years ahead: report

Students from Year 6 enjoying their class work at Hills Grammar

That’s the silver lining on the grey cloud of data contained in the 2016 PISA report.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a global education benchmark conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Every three years, 15-year-olds throughout the OECD and partner countries are tested on their skills and knowledge in Mathematics, Science and Reading. PISA collates the results to evaluate education standards around the world with a view to guiding education policy.

This year’s report was released on December 6 and reflects the educational attainment of students in 72 countries and economic regions (Hong Kong and Macau are assessed separately to mainland China) who sat the tests last year.

While Australia’s students overall achieved results that were just slightly above the OECD average, a breakdown of the data by sector, shows that students attending the nation’s independent schools did spectacularly well on the exams, with results placing them in the top five in every category.

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Think tank calls for greater school choice

The Centre for Independent Studies has released a new report calling for greater variety of school choice. The One School Does Not Fit All study argues that Australian students would be better served by the introduction of more educational options. The report canvasses policy options including scholarship tax credits and education savings accounts to help parents access the best school for their child.

Read more 

One School Does Not Fit All research report: Jennifer Buckingham and Trisha Jha for the Centre for Independent Studies
https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2016/02/rr9.pdf?

Coverage of the report by the Australian Financial Review
http://www.afr.com/news/policy/education/parents-need-more-choice-in-schooling-says-new-report-20160129-gmh46a