State-integrated schools give you best bangs for your bucks

Monday, August 10th, 2020

Parents who are saving up to get their child into a private school should be aware that state-integrated schools might give them better bangs for their bucks.

This the conclusion policy analyst Joel Hernandez comes to in a report he prepared for The New Zealand Initiative.

Many parents want their kids to go to private schools.

But this report claims that New Zealand’s state-integrated schools are doing much better than previously thought.

It claims that new data Hernandez crunched shows state-integrated schools may be a better choice.

A state-integrated school generally has a special character—for instance, a religious belief (e.g. Catholic) or a specialist teaching method such as Montessori.

State-integrated schools also charge much lower annual fees for students than private schools.

Often, the annual fee might be $1500, compared with a private school average of $20,000.

Since State-integrated schools were incorporated into the state education system under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act, 1975 private schools have generally been viewed as better academic performers.

However, this report shows for the first time that students on average have a higher chance of attaining UE at a state-integrated school than at a private school (after separating the contribution of family socioeconomic background).

“Of course, education isn’t just about gaining UE. Yet, giving kids opportunities is a key part of a school’s role.

If educators don’t believe every kid can gain UE, then we must lift our expectations.”

Hernandez will answer why state-integrated schools are doing so well in an upcoming report.

“In an ideal world, students should be getting a world-class education at any school,” Hernandez said.

“Yet state schools are much worse off.”

The report The State of Schooling: State, state-integrated and private school performance in New Zealand can be read on The New Zealand Initiative website here.

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