In the lead-up to the next four-year school funding deal, the federal education minister Jason Clare has commissioned a review into a better and fairer school system. In its recently released consultation paper, the review asked “What contributes to poor performance?” Its first answer? “Australia’s schools are highly segregated along socio-economic lines.”
The review stated that Australia has one of the most socially segregated school systems in the OECD; concentrations of disadvantage are increasing; and this is harming student learning outcomes. It pointed to evidence that a child from a disadvantaged family who attends a school surrounded by similarly disadvantaged peers will be three years of learning behind a child from the same background who attends an advantaged school.
