Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data

There are considerable differences in school outcomes on the NAPLAN tests in Australia between Government and non-Government schools. This paper documents these for four years of study (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9), and for the five NAPLAN domains (Grammar and Punctuation, Numeracy, Reading, Spelling and Wr...

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Main Authors: Miller, Paul, Voon, Derby
Format: Journal Article
Published: Blackwell Publishing 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23361
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author Miller, Paul
Voon, Derby
author_facet Miller, Paul
Voon, Derby
author_sort Miller, Paul
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description There are considerable differences in school outcomes on the NAPLAN tests in Australia between Government and non-Government schools. This paper documents these for four years of study (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9), and for the five NAPLAN domains (Grammar and Punctuation, Numeracy, Reading, Spelling and Writing). It then examines the extent to which the differences are due to characteristics of the schools, such as the socioeconomic status of the school and the gender mix of the total enrolment at the school. It is shown that a greater share of the difference in marks between Government and non-Government schools in Year 9 than in Year 3 is due to the characteristics of the schools. This implies that, consistent with recent press coverage, the better outcomes of the non-Government schools are due, in part at least, to a selection process that favours academically advantaged students.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-233612017-09-13T15:58:25Z Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data Miller, Paul Voon, Derby NAPLAN tests School Outcomes There are considerable differences in school outcomes on the NAPLAN tests in Australia between Government and non-Government schools. This paper documents these for four years of study (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9), and for the five NAPLAN domains (Grammar and Punctuation, Numeracy, Reading, Spelling and Writing). It then examines the extent to which the differences are due to characteristics of the schools, such as the socioeconomic status of the school and the gender mix of the total enrolment at the school. It is shown that a greater share of the difference in marks between Government and non-Government schools in Year 9 than in Year 3 is due to the characteristics of the schools. This implies that, consistent with recent press coverage, the better outcomes of the non-Government schools are due, in part at least, to a selection process that favours academically advantaged students. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23361 10.1111/j.1467-8454.2012.00429.x Blackwell Publishing restricted
spellingShingle NAPLAN tests
School Outcomes
Miller, Paul
Voon, Derby
Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title_full Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title_fullStr Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title_full_unstemmed Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title_short Government versus non-government schools: A nation-wide assessment using Australian NAPLAN data
title_sort government versus non-government schools: a nation-wide assessment using australian naplan data
topic NAPLAN tests
School Outcomes
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23361