To lift student outcomes, the Commonwealth and States and Territories need to forge a new agreement focused on driving effective change in Australia's schools and classrooms.

Releasing this interim report reviewing the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA), the Productivity Commission has said the next agreement should place greater weight on overall student wellbeing, improving equity and quality teaching.

Key points:

Although some initiatives have been delivered, others appear stalled.

• Governments appear to have lost their collective commitment to delivering a national unique student identifier (USI) and the formative assessment tool.
• Despite mounting concerns about teacher shortages, little progress seems to have been made in developing the data and evidence needed for an effective national workforce strategy.

The next intergovernmental agreement should focus on a small number of reforms that will directly lift student outcomes. Governments should select reforms that are best delivered through a co-ordinated national approach to help sustain long-term commitment by all parties.