A meeting of education ministers must thrash out a new school funding deal that targets need and treats states equitably, Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham says.
Senator Birmingham says he hopes the meeting in Adelaide on Friday considers the types of reforms that guarantee children get the learning experience in the classroom that they need to succeed.
"I hope that we can have really constructive discussions that will start tomorrow and will continue over coming months," he told reporters in Adelaide.
"To get school funding agreements in place that are fair, needs based, equitable, enduring and support reforms in our school system."
Senator Birmingham said the 27 different models currently put in place for funding resulted in a completely inconsistent approach.
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He said those arrangements paid different rates for identical students based on where they lived in Australia.
"I don't think that's what people expect a federal government should do," he said.
Once the deal is finalised with the states it is expected to run for another four years from 2018.
It is likely to include measures such as testing where Year 1 students are up to with reading and maths and putting in minimum literacy and numeracy requirements for Year 12 school leavers.
Senator Birmingham said the Commonwealth still hoped to complete negotiations with the states during the first half of 2017.
