School performance in Australia: results from analyses of school effectiveness: report for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet

This report presents results from analyses of school effectiveness in Australia. School effectiveness is measured by estimating performance gains or differences on a variety of student outcome measures after controlling for differences in student background characteristics. The study has been undertaken as part of the Shared Future Project for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC). The report begins with an analysis of some of the factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and school sector, that influence school performance, by examining their impact on student outcomes. It then examines school performance through analyses of achievement and other student outcome measures after controlling for the effects of student background characteristics and community context. In these analyses school is the unit of analysis. Modelling is used to control for the effects of differences in student intake and other factors such as school size and school location. In the final section, students and schools are analysed jointly using multi-level analysis to identify the policies and school features that characterise successful and effective schools.

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