Education in the island state: Half of students don’t finish Year 12

Tasmania’s school system stands out from the mainland states, and not just because it is disconnected from the continent.

For students in Tasmania, high school concludes at Year 10, after which they have the option to continue their education by enrolling in a college to achieve their Year 12 qualification (TCE).

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In contrast to other states and territories where Year 11 and 12 are part of high school, Tasmanian students typically leave their high school and move on to college, which draws in students from across the region. This system does have its benefits, such as offering a wider variety of subjects due to the larger student body.

However, the system has been a topic of debate for many years, with concerns primarily focused on the state’s Year 12 attainment rates. Currently, almost 47 percent of students in Tasmania do not plan to finish Year 12. The latest Productivity Commission report places Tasmania’s Year 12 attainment rates as the second-lowest in the country, ahead only of the Northern Territory, with just 53.1 percent of students achieving their qualification.

Despite a major overhaul of the education system a decade ago by the state Liberal government—extending some public high schools to Year 12—it stopped short of abolishing public colleges. With only 53 percent of Tasmanians completing a Year 12 qualification, Tasmanian students completing their TCE is at the lowest level since 2015. 

By comparison, the national average stands at 76 percent and the Australian Capital Territory (the only other state or territory with a college system) has an attainment rate of 73.7 percent.

However, Australian Education Union (AEU) Tasmanian Branch State Manager Brian Wightman said that the Productivity Commission data needed to be looked at within the Tasmanian context.  

“Tasmania has a high quality senior secondary system of colleges, similar to the ACT. Unfortunately, our colleges are the subject of unfair criticism because of the widespread misunderstanding and misreporting of Year 12 certification,” he said.

 “The Productivity Commission says Year 12 attainment rates should not be compared between states and territories because each has different assessment and reporting criteria.   

 “Tasmania has a very narrow measure of Year 12 attainment, compared with other states, and so comparing our attainment rates with other jurisdictions is like comparing apples and pears.”

 The data also fails to capture Tasmanian students who leave school at Year 10 to undertake an apprenticeship or enrol in a Vocational Education Training (VET) course.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30, Tasmanian Education Minister Jo Palmer said: “We have children who are that age who are going into VET courses – we don’t measure that in the data.

“We have children who are going and getting wonderful apprenticeships – we don’t measure that in the data.”

Despite this, the Productivity Commission report has reinvigorated calls for reform, with University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black adding his voice to the debate, saying the state was “not ready for the future with its education system” and called on the government to urgently make changes to support teachers and keep students “on track”.

“By the time we get to 2050, 80 percent of all jobs are going to require tertiary education — uni or TAFE. That means 90 percent of kids need to be finishing school, ready to go to uni or TAFE,” he said.

“We’re so far short of that at the moment, we’re barely above 50 percent of kids completing school with the qualifications we need. So we’ve got to care about education. We’ve also got to believe every child can do it.”

Economist Saul Eslake has been part of a local group advocating for better education outcomes in Tasmania. He argues that the college system creates barriers for students, particularly those from families where education has not been a traditional priority.

“It creates a barrier to people who come from families … where education hasn’t been traditionally as highly valued as it is in other parts of the country,” Eslake told ABC’s 7.30. 

He added that the system is “failing a significant proportion of Tasmanian students and their families.”

Also speaking on 7.30, Education Minister Jo Palmer said the dual system of Year 11 and 12 being taught at both high schools and colleges was all about offering choice.  “I don’t think it’s perfect. I think there’s still areas that we can iron out and make it smoother,” Ms Palmer said. “We’re trying to offer choice here.”

However, advocates for reform say that Tasmania needs to align with other states and offer Year 11 and 12 as part of high school. 

Until we create a system that every other state has, where it’s both the norm and the expectation that you will complete your secondary education where you started, we’re going to continue to have these problems,” Mr Eslake said.

In response to these concerning trends of low Year 12 completion, the state government has commissioned an independent review of Tasmania’s education system. The review will be led by former Northern Territory education department head Vicki Baylis, who will focus on improving retention, attainment, and overall educational outcomes, as well as supporting teachers and implementing effective policies. The report is expected by the end of the year.

However, AEU Tasmanian Branch State Manager Brian Wightman said that teachers are frustrated that another review into Tasmanian education has been proposed as there are recommendations from previous reviews that are yet to be implemented.

 “The most comprehensive review was the Gonski report into school funding and a decade on public schools are still waiting for the underfunding identified in that review to be fixed,” Mr Wightman said. 

“Now that a review is underway, we are constructively engaged and hoping that the final report puts the views of professional educators front and centre.”

Mr Wightman added that the greatest barrier to improving education outcomes in Tasmania is funding and chronic understaffing. 

“Meanwhile, we need the Tasmanian Government to prioritise securing a new school funding deal with the Commonwealth that will finally deliver minimum funding levels to every public school and fix the education staffing crisis,” he said. “The most important change in Tasmania to enable students to achieve more is to fix the chronic funding and staffing crisis.”

It must also be noted that despite the damming data, it has long been understood that student achievement has close ties to the engagement of parents in their child’s education, the socio-economic status of the student’s family and the educational achievement of the student’s parents. 

With this in mind, to improve the educational outcomes for Tasmanian students, policy makers may need further data on the links between educational attainment and other factors to help improve outcomes for students who may already be at a disadvantage when compared to their peers.

This article was first published in the Term 4 edition of School News. Read it HERE