Gap between student performance at richest and poorest schools has widened since Gonski, report finds

Updated

The gap between student performance at Australia's richest and poorest schools has widened in the three years since the Gonski report into education was delivered, a new report has found.

The report, written by members of the Need to Succeed Alliance, which champions public education, found the gap widened from 32 to 37 per cent between 2010 and the end of 2013 – with the wealthiest schools performing better and the poorest schools performing markedly worse.

The study was based on an analysis of every Australian school's NAPLAN test results published on the Federal Government's MySchool website.

"What is really alarming is that so soon after a major review of our framework of schools, we're finding that not only is the situation not improved, but it has continued to get worse," report author Chris Bonnor said.

"If we don't do something now, it's going to cost a lot more down the track."

Schools are ranked on MySchool according to the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA), which measures factors such as parental income and educational levels and whether students are from Indigenous or non-English speaking backgrounds.

The study found that on the whole, all student performance was stagnating or worsening, and secondary students' results were worse than those in primary schools.

That came as no surprise to Karen Money, principal at William Ruthven Secondary College in Reservoir, in Melbourne's north.

Seventy-five per cent of Ms Money's students come from non-English speaking backgrounds, and the school has a higher than average number of low-income families.

"If you have students that don't have help from mum and dad at home because they can't speak English ... then those students do need more intensive English support and help at school. And that takes time and money," Ms Money said.

"So from that perspective, you can see why, if that resourcing for those students isn't there, why the gap starts to get wider."

William Ruthven's quiet revolution for students

However, William Ruthven is proudly bucking the trend of schools in similar lower socio-economic areas.

Year 12 VCE results at the school have gone from a mean of 25 three years ago, to 28.2.

Under the previous Gillard government's National Partnerships initiative, the school was in 2010 given $250,000 in funding which it used to pay for extra teachers.

It meant senior teachers could take time out to coach their more junior colleagues in best practice, and staff could also spend extra time coaching students who needed help, or who sought it, to get better results.

Kevin Kapeke is one of the students benefiting from this quiet revolution.

His family left Zimbabwe for a better life just five years ago. He is now the school's star public speaker.

He plans to study politics and economics at university next year.

"I would like to be sort of like a barometer for social justice, for people out there who can't help themselves," Kevin said.

"So whether that's through politics or through lawmaking or through the court or the parliament, that's just what I want to try and attain right now."

His best friends have similar aspirations.

Aftab Merchant wants to play cricket for Australia and do a law degree at the University of Melbourne.

"I've got a plan for what I will do until I'm 30, actually," Aftab said.

Andrew Younan wants be a cardio-vascular surgeon and Amir Mallelari wants to be a mathematician.

"On tests I'll get like 97 per cent and I'll ask myself, 'where'd I get that 3 per cent wrong?'" Amir said.

Karen Young said her charges brought tears to her eyes every day, but she said the funding would soon run out.

Under David Gonski's plan, Ms Young stood to gain about another $5,000 per student – which she said would help programs like this to continue.

"We do the best we can for them with the resources we've got but I keep imagining what is possible if we have that recurrent funding for the next four to six years," Ms Young said.

Kevin Kapeke has seen the benefits and hopes that other students will see them in the future.

"As much as I would love to have said, 'I went to a private school, we did that, we did that', I came here," Kevin said.

"I really appreciate that because the people were welcoming to me and have been such good and caring teachers who have showed me unconditional love.

"And having the funding there, I think you will produce some very, very good students."

Principal concerned about when money runs out

The Gonski report recommended a $5 billion funding boost across all schools, with extra loadings for disadvantaged kids.

But Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne has said the Government will only fund the first four of the recommended six years of Gonski money.

The states are also yet to sign up to all of the reforms.

Merrylands High School in Sydney's outer west has a similar demographic to William Ruthven Secondary.

Principal Lila Mularcyk said the programs implemented with the National Partnerships funding had seen a tripling of the school's university acceptances in just two years.

Again, she is concerned what might happen if the money runs out.

"My greatest concerns are each and every one of the students in my school, but of course in all schools," Ms Mularcyk said.

"I'm concerned for the aspirations that they may not be able to reach if we don't genuinely invest in education.

"If we don't give to the children most in need, then we are letting down that child, their family, their local communities, and we are letting down our nation."

Chris Bonnor said Gonski showed that funding at the lowest end of the socio-economic spectrum reaped far more dividends than the highest.

"If we want to pick up student achievement overall we have to pick up the strugglers," Mr Bonnor said.

"Our investment in students at the top doesn't yield the same returns as our investment in students that are struggling does.

"We know it works, it requires that investment. It requires investment."

Mr Pyne declined to comment for this story.

Topics: primary-schools, schools, education, secondary-schools, public-schools, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia, sydney-2000, melbourne-3000

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