SunriseJune 15 – Ch 7, Sunrise

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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’.