Despite the best efforts of our teachers and school staff, Australia's public education system is struggling to meet the needs of all students, especially those experiencing disadvantage.

But a new report has outlined positive steps that can change that. The Expert Panel advising the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) has highlighted the need for targeted and tailored support for those who need it, a commitment to fair school funding and the use of data and evidence to inform necessary changes, to help achieve equity in our education system.

The NSRA is the agreement negotiated between Australia's federal, state and territory education ministers to set policy for public schools, which then informs funding agreements.

The Expert Panel's recommendations, released this week, follow the latest international comparison of 15-year-old students that showed Australia's performance in reading, science and mathematics is continuing its two decade-long decline.

Those results, from the triennial OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), highlighted the divide between the........

© Canberra Times