Abstract
During the past 25 years there has been a fivefold expansion in educational activity in Australia. There has also been a change in the atmosphere: the supportive environment of the earlier years has been replaced by hostility. In the education debate, this has been manifested in a switch from an inputs to an outcomes orientation and an emphasis on accountability.
An assessment of quality involves the selection of the relevant elements of the educational system, the assessment of their quality, and the weighting to be attached to them. The selection of the relevant elements depends on the avowed purposes of education and these include social objectives as well as objectives for the individual.
One of the social purposes of education relates to equality. The concept of educational equality can be interpreted at three levels: equality of educational provision, equality of educational opportunity, and equality of group educational outcomes. These have a bearing on social mobility and, to a lesser degree, on the distribution of occupations, income, and power.
Quality and equality in education have many dimensions, and discussions of them are necessarily value-laden. Public debate abounds with simplistic conclusions. There are no simple summary measures of trends in quality and equality in education. Detailed analyses, with all the appropriate reservations and warnings, are required.