Governments in Australia, as in most comparable countries, are now committed to the development of a better educated population and to new ways of managing public school systems. These new ways of managing combine strengthened central policy direction with devolved responsibility for the operation of schools. The commitment to a better educated population is for the most part economically motivated, resting on the assumption that this is a key element in raised productivity. It also, however, necessarily has a strong social justice component as it seeks to widen educational success beyond those social groups in which it traditionally has been high. Newly developing directions in the operation of public school systems clearly reflect pressures to ensure value for taxpayers' money. But they also have important educational justifications which cannot be overlooked.