This report explores school effectiveness across state, state-integrated, and private schools, otherwise defined as school authority (or type). State-integrated schools are defined by their special character (for instance, religious or special teaching method such as Montessori). Compared to private schools they have significantly lower fees, around $1500 per year rather than $20,000.

Key findings

1. On average state-integrated schools marginally outperform private schools after adjusting for family socioeconomic background. We also show that both state-integrated and private schools tend to outperform state schools.
2. In practice, this means the average student attending a state school is estimated to have a 30.5% chance of attaining UE. But at a state-integrated school, this improves to 38.8% or 37.4% in a private school.
3. The data cannot show why state-integrated schools are so successful. It may be the more traditional teaching methods, better classroom discipline, more knowledge-rich curriculums – or something else entirely.