Private schools vs Public schools
A little flippant, a lot simplified but interesting none the less to see a slight shift in the media narrative toward public schooling. As housing affordability, job insecurity and cost of living pressures increase, parents may see more of this type of reporting. Channel 7 reporter, Shaun White takes a look at which system produces better results in primary and secondary school.
Some points we would make:
- The video implies that every student has to sit a test to enter a private school – this is not true. Schools will almost always ask for academic records or NAPLAN results if the child is old enough but the entry examination is generally a thing of the past. The reporter may be confusing a scholarship examination for entry with normal entry.
- It is true that children from the same socio-economic background will perform equally well in either a public or a private school. However, this is dependent upon both schools being ‘good’ schools – good leadership, motivated staff, managed and governed prudently and a happy, engaged community. If not, then results may not be the same and parents may choose one over the other to ensure the best result for their child.
- Regardless of the type of school a parent may want, the school has to have the places available for enrolment. This is a real issue at the moment for the metropolitan areas in the Eastern States and in other demographic hot spots around Australia as we see the result of the Costello ‘BabyBonusBoom’.