Smarter thinking beats more spending

THERE are clever ways to improve our education system which don’t involve throwing money at the problem, writes Miranda Devine.

We can improve our education system without throwing more money at the problem. (Pic: Supplied)

THE more money we throw at education in this country, the worse our students perform in international tests.

Yet the solution from successive governments is to throw more money at education. It’s nuts.

In the 10 years to 2015, government funding per student increased by 15.4 per cent, according to a new report by the Centre for Independent Studies, released yesterday.

The Gonski plan involves ploughing another $23.5 billion into schools.

The federal government has now appointed an expert “Gonski panel” to determine how to spend the money.

Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull visits Swan View Senior High School. (Pic: Colin Murty/The Australian)

It would have been better to conduct the review before deciding to spend the money, as CIS researcher Blaise Joseph writes, but he has outlined three evidence-based investments for schools, which would significantly boost literacy and numeracy results.

- PHONICS is an essential part of effectively teaching reading. Yet education degrees don’t equip teachers with the necessary language knowledge. Joseph recommends investment in professional development to teach teachers how to teach reading using phonics.

- FEWER classes for teachers so they have more time outside the classroom to plan lessons and collaborate with other teachers. The extra cost would be minimal if offset by other savings, such as increased class sizes, since smaller class sizes make no difference to education outcomes.

- CLASSROOM management training to help teachers cope with Australia’s comparatively high levels of classroom misbehaviour.

The CIS leads the way in education research. There is no need for the Gonski panel to reinvent the wheel.