Focus on quality, not cash, for schools

SCHOOLS have been handed an "impossible demand" to break the poverty cycle for their students, a new report argues.

SCHOOLS have been handed an "impossible demand" to break the poverty cycle for their students, a task that will not be achieved by the continuing focus on school funding as the means to improved educational standards, a new report argues.

The report by the Public Policy Institute at the Australian Catholic University, released today, says the focus of the education debate should be on quality rather than resources, and on the research evidence of what works to lift student performance.

"Quality needs to be at the forefront of all decisions about the quantum and distribution of school resources and at the centre of initiatives to address educational disadvantage, and that quality needs to be defined broadly," the report says. "The central questions in school funding are what funding is needed and how these resources are best deployed to raise educational achievement for all."

The report, commissioned by the Independent Schools Council of Australia, comes days before the federal government is expected to release details of new schools funding based on the Gonski review. The government's announcement is expected in the next 10 days, ahead of a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments in mid-April.

On Saturday, former prime minister Kevin Rudd warned the Gillard government had failed to sell the historic schools funding revolution to the country's "mums and dads", who he said remained in the dark about what the Gonski reforms actually mean.

The ISCA report says governments pay lip-service to quality in education, defining it too narrowly as literacy and numeracy skills. This narrow view of quality sets the bar too low for student expectations, while doing a disservice to students from disadvantaged families. "For students without ready access to wider educational experiences through home and family, defining school quality in terms of basic skills only limits expectations and fails to prepare them with the knowledge and skills necessary for further study, employment and active citizenship," the report says.

"A substantial body of research shows categorically that the correlation between education spending and achieved qualitative outcomes is weak. A reasonable level of funding is unquestionably the bedrock for good educational performance, but more money does not equal better performance."

The report, by PPI executive director Scott Prasser and research associate Helen Tracy, was commissioned by the independent schools sector as part of its response to the federal government's reforms of school funding based on recommendations by the Gonski review.

Professor Prasser says the goal of improving the equity of Australia's education system is best served by ensuring that the quality of schools and teachers is maintained at a high level.

"Basic skills proficiency is important but schools should be supported and held accountable for achieving quality in terms of a well-rounded education focusing on the high-level skills needed in the modern economy and society," he says.