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• Education

Quality school education is vital for individual potential and a healthy society. All children should have access to an education that is responsive to their needs as well as upholding high academic standards. CIS’s research focus is on policies that improve the quality of teaching and student outcomes.

Making the Grade: School Report Cards and League Tables
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 20, 2008IA103

International research shows that students in schools that publish their results publicly perform better than...

Amenities return, wrapped in red tape
November 12, 2008The Australian

`Never choose a simple scheme when there is a complex alternative' seems to be the...

Brightest and best miss out
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 6, 2008The Australian

When the OECD described Australia as a ‘high quality, low equality’ country in its 2000...

Supply and demand formula for universities is failing
October 6, 2008The Age

Around Australia, the first applications for next year's university places are now in. Unfortunately, for...

The Northern Territory’s performance in national literacy and numeracy testing
Helen HughesSeptember 17, 2008The Australian

When we drew attention to the failures of Northern Territory schooling in April this year,...

School reporting will be the first test of Labor’s ‘modern federalism’
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 12, 2008The Canberra Times

A problematic feature of school education in Australia is that there is a fair amount...

Childcare in Australia: A new approach
Gigi FosterNovember 20, 2025RR51

Executive summary Several well-known bodies, from the Productivity Commission to the Australian Competition and Consumer...

Knowledge is power: What do teachers believe about learning?
Trisha JhaOctober 30, 2025AP92

Executive Summary This report presents findings from literature about what teachers believe about how students...

Sex and maths success: myths and interventions
David C. GearyJuly 17, 2025AP83

Executive summary Mathematical competencies at the completion of secondary school influence later educational and occupational...

Early Numbers, Big Ideas. Fostering Number Sense in Young Children
Nancy C. Jordan, Nancy DysonJuly 10, 2025AP82

Introduction Numbers are an integral part of our daily lives, both inside and outside of...

Fractions Minus the Friction. A guide to four teaching practices
Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Allison McClure, Cassandra HatfieldDecember 12, 2024AP78

Introduction Understanding fractions has a significant impact on both individuals and society. Fractions are an...

The Argument For Debate: how school debating can improve academic outcomes and foster a stronger democracy
Deidre Clary, Fiona MuellerDecember 5, 2024AP77

Introduction The Education Goals for Young Australians prioritise “excellence and equity” and the formation of...

Principal is the means of elevation
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 2, 2009The Australian

Somewhere between one in five and one in six students are barely literate and numerate,...

Overcoming socio-economic disadvantage in education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 2, 2009

Literacy and numeracy are not everything, but they are almost everything. Somewhere between one in...

OECD study holds lessons for Australian education policy
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 11, 2009

This week, the OECD released its annual Education At A Glance report which provides country...

WA schools are independent in name only
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 28, 2009

The WA government recently announced that it would be allowing up to 30 government schools...

Informed choice leads to better schooling outcomes
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 18, 2009Adelaide Now

Over the last 10 years or so, the school education landscape across Australia has altered...

The enduring gender gap in education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 24, 2009

In 2000, the Howard government initiated a parliamentary inquiry into the education of boys in...

Behind Every Great Teacher Is a Great System | David Didau, Jenny Donovan & Trisha Jha
Trisha Jha, David Didau, Jenny DonovanMarch 20, 2026

David Didau — education consultant, teacher trainer, and author of Making Kids Cleverer and Intelligent...

Education Reform That Works: Insights from UK, New Zealand & Australia
Glenn Fahey, Nick Gibb, Jason Clare MPDecember 8, 2025

Three leading education ministers — Sir Nick Gibb (UK), Erica Stanford (New Zealand), and Jason...

What do teachers believe about learning? | Trisha Jha
Trisha JhaNovember 6, 2025

This report presents findings from literature about what teachers believe about how students learn: the...

Restoring Excellence in Australian Education | Senator Jonathon Duniam
Glenn FaheyOctober 3, 2025

At this Centre for Independent Studies forum, Shadow Federal Minister for Education Senator Jonathon Duniam...

Evidence vs Ideology: Why the Science of Learning Matters?
Doctor Carl Hendrick, Doctor Simon Breakspear, Glenn FaheyJune 26, 2025

As Australian student outcomes decline and education inequality persists, a growing movement is challenging the...

The science of learning will set students free | Glenn Fahey
Robert Forsyth, Glenn FaheyJune 13, 2025

Robert Forsyth interviews Glenn Fahey, director of the education program at the Centre for Independent...

Submission to Senate Education and Employment References Committee
Michael Wu October 22, 2025CIS

Despite good intentions, Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care system has expanded well beyond its...

Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on Building a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce
Trisha JhaSeptember 18, 2025

Submission at a glance 1. Achieving written curriculum quality is a necessary step for long-term...

Submission to the Independent Review of Education in Tasmania
Trisha JhaOctober 4, 2024

Introduction The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is a leading independent public policy think tank...

Submission to the Inquiry into Literacy and Numeracy in ACT Public Schools
Trisha JhaFebruary 27, 2024

This submission does not directly seek to answer the 20 questions posted in the Consultation...

Submission to the Legislative Council Inquiry into the State Education System in Victoria
Trisha JhaOctober 4, 2023

Introduction The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is a leading independent public policy think...

Submission to the NSW Curriculum Review Interim Report Consultations
Fiona MuellerDecember 1, 2019

The NSW Government commissioned a review of the state’s curriculum in September, 2018, to be...

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