Rich kids do better at school: study

Children from higher socioeconomic areas are performing better at school than those in poorer areas, according to an analysis of school figures. A study of the national literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN) test results by The Weekend Australian has revealed the country’s top 100 primary and secondary schools havea role-call of students from well-to-do suburbs. Director of the Centre for Research on Education Systems at Melbourne University, Richard Teese, says the analysis highlights a geographical concentration of advantage. “It’s not an even playing field in which talent can blossom from whatever location – it’s people excelling through social advantage,” he told The Weekend Australian. He said schools in poorer postcodes were under-resourced and found it difficult to attract experienced and specialised teachers. “We are now at a point where thereare no new commonwealth funds available to correct the funding imbalance that has operated for decades…” he said. “Our potential is not being harvested. “Public schools educate two-thirds of our kids; they are our nurseries and we are starving them.” The study also found selective schools ranked highest among the country’s secondary and primary schools, with government selective schools in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia out-performing many other high schools. The study highlighted that while independent schools performed highest outside of selective schools, students from the best performing non-selective government schools were also from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. It also found a correlation between students’ performances and their family’s level of education. “The large reserves of talent in less well educated families are being denied the support needed to be turned into the large band of high achievers representing all backgrounds that Australia should have,” Professor Teese said. The Weekend Australian performedthe analysis by comparing NAPLAN results, based on national testing of Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students, with the Index of Community Socio-Education Advantage, which measures income and education level’s of student’s families. It comes after education ministers from across the country met in Sydney on Thursday to discuss majorreforms to the national schooling system.