Great need for selective secondary schools

Feb 2007, Stephen Digby in response to: 2007-02-17 Elite schools dominate uni places
Elite schools dominate uni places (Age feb 17) seems a bit of "beatup". In the VTAC 2005-2006 report, 51% of the students who applied for tertiary entrance came from government schools and they made up 48% of the enrolments the following year. It should be no surprise to anyone that although government students make up 48% of enrolments overall, they only make up 35% at Melbourne University .
Government schools have to use a junior curriculum structure (VEL's) that is not academically focussed on preparing students for university entrance. As government students approach VCE, many of those who want to beat the competition to get the most hotly contested institutions move to catholic and independent schools where this preparation is more of the focus. Furthermore, government school students are encouraged to consider a range of tertiary options of which traditional universities, like Melbourne, are only one. The proportion of students in government schools graduating VCE is then much smaller and a more biased sample than it is over all the years of secondary schooling.
The real unmet demand is for many more selective entry government schools that teach towards successful tertiary entrance ranks at least for years 9-12.
The government rhetoric that endlessly repeats that all schools can be all things to all students on a shoestring budget just contributes to dissatisfaction with the government school system.

Stephen Digby

VCAA Statistics: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/statistics/2006_statistics.html
VTAC Statistics: http://www.vtac.edu.au/pdf/stats/2005-2006/2005_2006_Section_G.pdf
(Extract: 2005-2006-VTAC-annual-report-extract-Section-G.pdf)