<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>New research has revealed that Australia is the most expensive place in the developed world to send a child to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/school" rel="" target="_blank" title="high school"><span>high school</span></a><span>, prompting a call for "radical reform".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australia Institute found it cost families $4967 a year to send a child to high school, almost four times the OECD average.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the soaring cost of education was found to be driven by an ever-greater uptake of private schools, where parents are paying up to $55,000 a year - despite the sector receiving significant government funding.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-man-charged-after-allegedly-making-online-death-threats-to-a-foreign-head-of-state/75c8e51e-af18-4457-a147-fd853e9014a1" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Sydney man charged over alleged death threats to foreign head of state</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 40 per cent of Australian high schoolers attend private school, with that number set to cross 50 per cent by 2055 if current trends continue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In comparison, just nine per cent of US high schoolers attend fee-paying schools, and just eight per cent in the UK.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, despite charging increasingly high fees, the Australia Institute found a private education was not substantially better.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/australia-has-worlds-most-expensive-high-schools-new-research-shows/55a327ab-9cce-4935-9ac2-d58f5a67eb87" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/measles-circulating-undetected-in-adelaide-sa-health-warns/1d12adaa-415c-49df-9f41-2d630a67332b" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Measles circulating undetected in Aussie city after new case detected</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It claimed differences in test scores could be due to differences in the socio-economic background of students - factors such as time to do homework, access to tutoring, and parental education - than to the quality of teaching.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, Australia-wide, public schools are facing a funding shortfall of more than $4 billion.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australia Institute co-chief executive Richard Denniss said funding policies had created a "two-tiered education system" in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Yet all this money isn't buying a better education for Australian children," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/e-bikes-calls-for-more-limits-how-old-riders-have-to-be-state-by-state/3001b4a8-466b-4151-a07f-b01e7d67d5bc" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>The lone Aussie state that puts age limits on e-bike riders</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In fact, as private school revenues and enrolments have surged, Australia's performance on international tests has declined."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He pointed out that many other countries outright banned the notion of schools being able to charge private fees if they accepted public money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Schools which can afford to build things like indoor swimming pools and rifle ranges should not be receiving taxpayer dollars," Denniss said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Diverting money from rich private schools into public schools would help level the playing field and would simultaneously encourage families to send their children to public schools, which would save them a small fortune."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>