At last clear evidence that Australian schools perform well largely because of the non government sector.

The anti intuitive concept that the left was trying to peddle i.e. that by tearing down the high performing non government sector, that overall standards would improve has been firmly debunked.

Education in Australia could easily be on par with the best if only they'd get teachers from elsewhere. The sad fact is that no amount of education can solve the problem if the same teachers with the same mentality keep brainwashing our kids.

Maths, science and reading are obsolete criteria - nowadays children's education success is measured by how much they believe in, love and worship the government, and the ultimate test: how willing they are to become soldiers and die for their country.

We will have a decent debate about education when we stop citing these nonsense measures. If only education was like an Olympic sprint. It isn't. In whose interest is it that we inflict this banality on our kids? It certainly is not the kids.

As highlighted by this article often facile cross comparisons of international schooling results fail to acknowledge the individuality of country and/or district contributors that influence academic outcomes. Cultural/social conditioners also impact notably when students of Asian families achieve high HSC or VCR results.

Remember also the glowing reports concerning Mr Joel Klein and his efforts to modernise New York schools. Such structures should, of course, transform Australian schooling achievement. We don't hear much of Mr Klein now, either from Canberra politicians or the Murdoch press.

The immaturity (and political agenda) of many Australian education commentators is revealed when they refuse to acknowledge comparatively high outcomes being achieved by non-government school students. Ah yes, but it's all because they recruit from a socio-economic elite and refuse entry to students less gifted intellectually. What rubbish.

Political leaders need to recognize that one third of Australian school students attend non-government schools. If they closely examined these school's operational philosophies perhaps, just perhaps they could inject these school's positives across all school sectors, government and non-government.

Bennery

Quite frankly I don't give a fig about what school scores what. Do a little comparison. Take our new shiny new NSW, oops, I mean National curriculum and put it against the developments taking place on the planet. I challenge anyone to demonstrate that what is currently being trialled is designed for this century. We have a Minister of Education whose knowledge of education one could inscribe on a pin with a pneumatic drill. He could not tell if it was suitable for the 1800's let alone the 2000's.

The 'debate' about education in Oz is like a broken record The hamsterteriat keep running around in the wheel. The same patterns of disadvantage continue to be reproduced. The poor keep being done over by a system that is more about maintenance of bureaucratic control than actually helping teachers, Principals and kids. There is no evidence that the country's policy makers have an educational imagination. To steal a line from an old movie, 'Canberra, we have a problem!'