Australian has had a dual educational system of private and public schools for over one hundred years. This article examines whether parents who send their adolescent children to government, Catholic or other private school hold different educational priorities. It also examines the extent to which they and their children are satisfied with the schools attended. The author looks at the priorities of parents, and the evaluation of schools both in terms of the parents' views and the students' views. The author states that the relatively low satisfaction both parents and students have with government schools may partly explain the changing enrolments in these schools, with the greatest growth occurring in private schools other than Catholic and Anglican schools.