Student background the big difference between private and public school results

Despite some charging almost $50,000 a year, a new study has found that education at private schools is nothing special in comparison to government and independent schools.

Private schools offer little educational benefit despite fees hitting almost $50,000 a year, a new international study has found.

The higher grades attained by private schools are mainly due to the social-economic status of the students, not the education on offer, a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revealed.

In fact, 15-year-old students from public schools internationally do better in maths once the social disadvantage of the cohort is accounted for.

“In most countries the performance advantage of 15-year-old students enrolled in private schools over their publicly educated peers disappears once their socio-economic background and the profile of their school are taken into account,” the report states.

This includes Australian private schools which enrol at least 30 per cent more students from advantaged backgrounds than government schools.

Overall, 60 per cent of private school pupils in this country come from privileged families. However, as much as 78 per cent at Scotch College, 75 per cent at Melbourne Grammar and 73 per cent at Carey Grammar come from the top socio-economic percentile.

As much as 78 per cent of students at Scotch College come from privileged families. Picture: Supplied

Additional analysis by the Australian Council for Educational Research found that when student background was taken into account, in maths and science there was little difference between independent and government schools, which both performed above Catholic schools.

In reading, government students did better than Catholic students and there was little difference between independent and government students, and between independent and Catholic students.

According to the Australian Council for Educational Research, students’ background was a significant factor in the difference between results. Picture: AAP Image/David Crosling

Analysis from Trevor Cobbold from Save Our Schools shows that in 2022, Catholic and independent schools had the biggest declines in their international results since 2009, with students losing nearly two years of learning in reading, maths and science.

“The reading learning loss in Catholic and Independent schools was nearly three times that in public schools,” Mr Cobbold said.

“The failure to fully fund public schools is a major factor contributing to inequity in education outcomes,” he said.

It comes as funding for private schools has increased by 20 per cent over the past decade compared to a 37 per cent increase in private schools.

In Australia, 60 per cent of the funding for private schools comes from the government and the rest in parent fees which have reached $49,720 a year at Geelong Grammar.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools executive director Edward Simons said that in 2024, “more parents than ever before are enrolling their children in Catholic schools in Melbourne, a firm indication of the outstanding education on offer in our schools”.

Despite private school student numbers in most countries staying stable, in Australia recent enrolments have surged from 40.5 per cent to 52.7 per cent between 2015 and 2021.