Chris,

Still banging on this old drum?

I notice that your title is "Selectivity in schooling does not deliver", yet nowhere do you actually try and back this up with any references and data.

Public selective schools were implemented in recognition that the existing public school system, which even to this day resists streaming children, was not catering for the handful of high flyers. The result of which was in many cases terminal boredom, misbehaviour and under achievement.

From what I have read, the private and selective schools have delivered a veritable bounty of intellectual super stars. However, this has had the unfortunate effect of giving the impression of public schools as the intellectual also rans.

The question of the huge migration from public education is also about the obvious improvement in results seen by individual children when moved to independent schools. As in the article most parents of private school children are middle class, the fees demand considerable sacrifice.

Chris Bonner and other crusaders against elitism often miss the obvious. With a powerful teachers union, archaic teaching methods and promotion based on length of service, the public schools desperately need fixing.

The solution is to fix the lame ducks, not to hobble the high fliers.

Public selective schools needed to resolve existing public and private school system which resists catering for increasingly larger handful of students who fall "through the cracks" in our education system.

High flyers may do with some additional specialist selective schools, greater need is for more placements for students capable of being high flyers if can pass financial barriers usually in place.

Whether result their terminal boredom, misbehaviour or just under achievement, these need selective schools to send them away to avoid their falling completely through cracks.

Fees do act as barriers, filtering out those who might achieve.

Secondary boarding schools students should be funded directly from centrelink or family allowance, for their boarding and education.

All schools should be independent. State supported schools also independent, with locally selected boards managing them.

All teachers independently assessed for their competance and skills rating by an independant assesement panel.

Each school assessed to determine needed quantity of teachers, at each competence and skills level.

Schools seeking staff higher need raise their own funds to do so.

State and Commonwealth funding to be part basic, then part supplementary.

Supplementary from Commonwealth, states, also here include funds raised by each school board. Grants commission calculate then publish supplementary support ratio for each school - based on local ability to raise funds and needs; Grants Commission to explain how decided, showing for each what $ raised receives what $ %ration of support each to receive.

Special grants for particular changes to be submitted, assessed then recommended through a public process.

After recommendations published then Education ministers to consider then decide - and explain, any variation from the recommendations.

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