To ensure consistently high standards, Australia has developed a national curriculum framework, which applies across the country. Australian school students perform consistently well in international competitions and comparative studies. Olympiads Australian students performed better than all countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development except for the United States of America, a country with more than ten times Australia's population. Australian teachers are university trained with secondary school teachers having specialist qualifications in their subject area. Australian teachers take advantage of a range of opportunities for further study and professional development, including study in and outside Australia, and study through distance education programs.
Australian schools are world leaders in the application of technology to education.
Technology is used in all Australian schools to improve learning and create a stimulating learning environment. There is a wide variety of government schools to choose from. Students can go to a boys or girls only school, or to a school that accepts both boys and girls. At many schools, Australian students of Asian origin and Asian overseas students are able to preserve and develop their own language skills. Some schools and colleges cater exclusively for international students.