Public schools are just as good as private schools in getting results with students from similar socio-economic backgrounds, a study has found.
The presumption that private schools will deliver better results is a myth, concludes a new analysis of NAPLAN school results by Save Our Schools, an organisation advocating for a high quality education system in Australia.
SOS national convenor, Trevor Cobbold, says public schools are a good choice for parents, who should not be beguiled by misleading private school marketing.
"Public, Catholic and Independent schools with a similar socio-economic composition have very similar results in nearly all states," he says in a statement.
There was more variation amongst high Socio Economic Status (SES) schools, he said.
Public schools achieved significantly better results than private schools in the two highest high-SES categories in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, while the results were similar in Queensland.
These are the only states with schools in all three sectors in these categories.
Results were very similar between public, Catholic and Independent schools at the bottom of the high-SES category.
Mr Cobbold said little could be made in the study of comparisons of results for low-SES schools because there are very few Catholic and Independent schools of this type.
Public schools largely serve poor communities, he said.
However, Australian Education Union deputy federal president Correna Haythorpe says there is a strong link between economic disadvantage and low academic achievement in Australia.
"We need Gonski funding, which recognises the greater needs of these students, to close these gaps in achievement by ensuring all schools are funded to minimum resource standards," she said in a statement.
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