Hi Spikey,
I'm not really taking part in this discussion due to lack of time but this article might support your question whether private schools really provide a superior education.

http://www.monash.edu.au/news/newsline/story/350

"Public school students perform well at university

A study released today by Monash University researchers Ian Dobson and Eric Skuja has found students from public schools outperform those from private schools when they reach university.

Mr Dobson said a survey of 12,500 first year Monash University students revealed public school students who left Year 12 with lower marks than their private school rivals overtook them academically at university.

"Once on a level playing field, students from non-selective government schools tend to do much better," he said.

"Private school students have an advantage at exam time in Year 12 because they have access to more resources. However, this advantage evaporates when they reach university."

The report found that once at university, public school students performed better academically in their first year compared with private school students who received similar ENTER scores.

"We found that, on average, government school students performed about five percentage points better than students from independent schools," Mr Dobson said.

The study confirmed that private school students generally received higher Year 12 marks than those from the public system but showed that any edge gained was lost in the first year of a bachelor degree.

Mr Dobson said the report had implications for university admissions and policies.

The report, called 'Secondary schooling, tertiary entry ranks and university performance', will be released in the April edition of People and Place, distributed by Monash University's Centre for Urban Research and Population Studies."

Thanks Celivia.

However, I have found over the years that uncomfortable facts don't seem to change people's preferred pre-judgements on topics like school performance.

Spikey,

Independent studies in NSW and Victoria show that without a shadow of doubt that the performance of pupils from independent schools is higher than the public schools drawn from the similar areas.

The proportion of children progressing to university is even higher.

Celivia

What the report you quote fails to mention is that the sample is distorted. What it shows is that private school kids with a lower ability are scoring higher in the HSC and gaining university places more easily. Once a HECS place is achieved graduation is reasonably likely.

Considering that most private school kids progress to get degrees compared to a much smaller proportion in public schools it is not a bad investment in the future.

The future contacts, the broad scope of interests supported are all cherries on top.

Bennie, I think that just because you see scientific research as a amoral thing does not mean others do and should have to do so. It sounds to me like you what to put your view about science on to those who disagree and that not a very liberal thing to do.

Issues like stem cell research highlight the diversity of opinion in a democracy and the need for that to be debated. I believe that if majority of people in our democratic society want to say no to scientific research on grounds of morality they have every right to do so. There is no need to force the progress of science on anybody. There is no need for presumptions and assumptions in public policy

Shadow Minister asserts,

"Independent studies in NSW and Victoria show that without a shadow of doubt that the performance of pupils from independent schools is higher than the public schools drawn from the similar areas. The proportion of children progressing to university is even higher."

What independent studies? Name them please.

The Australian Council for Educational Resarch, the pre-eminent body in the field says:

"While it is true that some private schools achieve outstanding Year 12 results and are highly successful in terms of university entrance, some of these schools, like some public schools, have selective student intakes. In these schools, students enter with above-average records of school achievement. They often come from higher socio-economic groups within the community and have above-average levels of support at home and outside school.

"For these reasons, the quality of education provided by a school is best judged not by its final results but by the difference it makes, taking into account students' starting points. A school making a large difference to students' levels of achievement and life chances may deliver 'better education', despite its lower Year 12 results."
(http://www.acer.edu.au/enews/0408_PublicOrPrivate.html)

I'd refer you, too, to Barbara Preston's study: "The social make-up of schools: Family income, religion, Indigenous status, and family type in government, Catholic and other nongovernment schools". (http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/Bprestonrep2007.pdf)