In a recent Fairfax analysis of HSC scores and their correlation to levels of advantage/disadvantage, two Valley schools were in the top 20 of NSW high schools found to be comprehensively punching above their weight.
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And with our third high school, Bowraville Central School, achieving the highest ATAR result in the Valley, the Nambucca is starting to look pretty darn erudite.
Examining the number of high scores awarded in the HSC (band 6 or E4) shows a system highly weighted to the state’s top-tier schools.
The top quarter of those high schools received more than 70 per cent of the high scores awarded. The bottom quarter received less than 2 per cent.
Prosecuting this imbalance reveals a predictable skew towards private and selective schools.
However, there is still a big variation between school performance within the government, non-selective sector.
In fact, looking at the results of only those schools shows the top 25 per cent get an even higher percentage of the high scores – 75 per cent.
Some of it is down to school size, of course, but another highly correlated factor is the level of educational advantage enjoyed by students.
This is measured by the government using an ICSEA score, which takes into account factors such as parents' occupations, education level and the location of the school.
The average ICSEA score is 1000; schools with a higher number are considered relatively advantaged, and those below relatively disadvantaged.
Looking at the 256 non-selective government schools for which ICSEA scores were available reveals a clear relationship between a school's ICSEA score and their HSC success rate (the number of band 6s as a percentage of entries).
Comparing the two results helps reveal schools punching above their weight on educational outcomes.
Asked why some schools do better than others with similar circumstances, NSW Secondary Principals' Council president Chris Presland said it was mostly down to teaching staff.
"The most significant variable between schools is the quality and experience of teachers. If you've got a teacher who's an HSC marker and has been teaching a course for several years, that's a huge advantage to a school," Mr Presland said.
"Some schools also have additional programs and mentoring and a lot of it's got to do with resourcing, but nothing compares to the capacity of the teacher."
However, Mr Presland cautioned against only assessing schools based on their percentage of high scores (band 6s) achieved.
"If you look at what the best school in the state is by band 6s, it's James Ruse every year," he said.
"But if you look at which school has the best teachers and is making the biggest difference, it's never a selective school or private school.
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"From a schools perspective, what we use is our value-added data, it shows the growth rate of every student from the year 9 NAPLAN through to the HSC.
"Lower socio-economic schools tend to make a massive difference. That's far more significant than band 6s."