Public schools play a critical role in ensuring access to educational opportunity for Australians from all economic and geographical communities. In this report, Centre for Future Work researchers document the large economic and social benefits of stronger funding for public schools.

Around 10 per cent of students across Australia need additional support in literacy and numeracy to meet higher NAPLAN expectations, according to the data released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in the new-look 2023 NAPLAN national results.

This paper is the second in a series of analytical insights papers, which provide accessible, up-to-date analysis of educational datasets. It’s the first in a series that uses the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO)’s new Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy in Australia (LLANIA) dataset to explore educational questions.

The Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System (the Review) will make recommendations for Education Ministers to inform the next agreement to improve education outcomes in Australia and meet the current and future needs of students. This consultation paper covers the five key areas outlined in the Terms of Reference.

Australian states and territories independently implemented school closures as part of Australia’s successful COVID-19 elimination strategy. In this paper, the authors estimate the causal effect of pandemic school closures on standardised test scores in Australia, using variation in the length of school closures.