Australia ranks behind New Zealand, Ireland and ten other countries in a global education index published in a report called The Learning Curve by worldwide education firm Pearson.
The index compares the cognitive skills and education attainment of 40 countries. Finland tops the list, followed by South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
The UK is ranked at number six and New Zealand, Canada and Ireland also rank above Australia, which is 13th. The United States at 17th.
Pearson said the report was designed to help policy makers and educators identify the common elements of effective education that lead to better social and economic outcomes.
Pouring money into schools and increased family incomes have a positive affect on educational outcomes, the report said.
But the more valuable factor was the cultural importance placed on education, as indicated by the results out of Finland, Canada and South Korea.
"On the surface, money and education seem to create a virtuous circle, with rich countries and individuals buying good educations for their children who, in turn, benefit economically," the report states.
"A closer look, though, indicates that both higher income levels and better cognitive test scores are the result of educational strategies adopted, sometimes years earlier, independently of the income levels existing at the time."
There was no substitute for having a good teacher, the report added.
"Having a better one is statistically linked not only to higher income later in life but to a range of social results including lower chances of teenage pregnancy and a greater tendency to save for their own retirement." The biggest problem is no easy 'recipe' for finding them.
The index was based on research carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and used Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data.
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