The Federal Government has announced the release of four new, independent research reports that will form part of the government's review into school funding.

 

The reports have been released for comment in a public consultation period by the by the Review of Funding for Schooling panel. The reports will assist the panel in developing its final recommendations to the Federal Government by the end of the year.

 

The four reports released are:

  • An Allen Consulting Group report which considered the feasibility of a schooling resource standard – the baseline amount of money per student needed to achieve good educational results including loadings for disadvantaged students. The report found a schooling resource standard was feasible.

  • An Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) report on the existing processes for targeting funding to disadvantaged students. The report highlighted the current disjointed and complex nature of these arrangements.

  • A Deloitte Access Economics report into existing funding models for schooling in Australia. The report says that teacher quality, school autonomy and targeted funding for disadvantaged students are the most significant influences on results.

  • A Nous Group consortium report into schooling challenges and opportunities in Australia, which confirmed that while Australian schools perform well by international standards, there is variable performance between schools and within schooling sectors.

 

Submissions on the four reports will close on September 30.

 

Copies of the reports are available here