Latest ABS Schools data once again highlights how Tasmania's school education is short-changing Tasmanian students
Saul Eslake
Independent Economist | Keynote Speaker | Consultant | Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Tasmania | Advisor to businesses, investors, industry associations and community organizations |
The ABS released its Schools data for 2023 last Wednesday.
It shows that Tasmania’s retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 dropped for the second year in a row, to 71.4%, the lowest since 2012, to be 8.1 percentage points below the national average, the biggest such margin since 2017:
Retention rates Year 10 to Year 12, Tasmania and Australia
Every state and territory except the ACT recorded a drop in the Y12 retention rate in 2023 – perhaps because the jobs market for young people was exceptionally strong, so the temptation to ‘drop out’ and get a job may have been stronger than usual.
But the 2.7 pc pt decline in Tasmania was larger than for any jurisdiction except WA, where it fell by 5.9 pc points (but from a much higher level, together with SA’s the highest in Australia except for the ACT).
Significantly, I think, Tasmania’s Year 7/8 to Year 10 ratio was not significantly different from the national average:
Retention rates Years 7/8 to Year 10, 2023
Which surely must be almost irrefutable evidence that the ‘structural break’ in Tasmania’s high school system between Year 10 and Years 11 & 12 is a major reason for Tasmania’s cellar-dwelling Year 12 retention rate.
Sadly, the Government’s policy of extending Year 11 and 12 courses to all high schools – which I’ve strongly supported from its inception – hasn’t worked. And it won’t work until some Government has the intestinal fortitude to close the colleges, and do what every other state does, namely, enable every student to finish Year 12 where he or she starts Year 7 (Year 8 in SA).
?The ABS figures also show that Tasmania has smaller schools than any other state or territory:
Average no of students per government primary school???
?Average no of students per government high school???????????????????????????
Clearly, this hasn’t done anything to produce better educational outcomes for Tasmanian students.
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Nor has having smaller class sizes:
Average class sizes, all schools, 2023?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
One consequence of having an above-average number of small schools, and of having separate colleges for Years 11 & 12, is that both characteristics require the employment of proportionately more administrative, support and other non-teaching staff, which is probably why Tasmania has an above-average proportion of its total school staffing who are not teachers:
Non-teaching school staff as a pc of total staff, 2023
This in turn helps explain why Tasmania spends more per student than any other jurisdiction except the NT, yet gets worse results than any jurisdiction except the NT. These figures are from the ABS publication Government Finance Statistics for the year 2021-22 financial year, released last April: the 2022-23 figures won’t be released until 23rd April
State government spending on school education per FTE student, 2021-22??????????????????????????
State government spending on school education as a pc of GSP, 2021-22
So, clearly, the solution to the woeful performance, relative to the rest of Australia, of Tasmania’s school education system isn’t ‘spend more money’ or ‘employ more teachers’.
?Rather, we need to do things (and spend money) differently.
Doing what every other state does – since it clearly produces better results for less money – seems like a good place to start. And that would include, in particular, creating as the 'norm' that students can expect to, and should be expected to, finish year 12 where they start year 7 (as they do in every other state, apart from SA where high school starts at year 8).
People standing for office at the 23 March Tasmanian state election - and political parties seeking to form government after that election - should be talking about this, and offering solutions to Tasmania's long legacy of letting its young people down.
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1 年And yet ACT, with separate Year 11& 12, has the highest attainment. It is largely a demographic issue, Tasmania has zero people in a large city and a much higher proportion in rural and remote areas. Adding years 11 & 12 to high school might improve statistics, but if the specialist teachers and equipment cannot be sourced it would lower actual education availability to those regional and remote students. There's no point finishing year 12 without actually having a better education. And getting specialist chemistry teachers somewhere like St Helens, Whitemark or Queenstown for maybe one student a year isn't going to happen.
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1 年I’m a big fan of strong educational outcomes that lead to young people having choice. It would seem obvious to me that the single biggest difference in our schooling system that impacts this outcome is the use of colleges for years 11 and 12 rather than the commencing school age. My observation is that many young people are influenced through movies and social media to believe that our system is like the American college system, which is post secondary and thus optional. There are some significant benefits to the college environment in Tas but also some negatives. We also have a highly distributed population and a local idiosyncrasy about the distance people are comfortable travelling. These factors also are more likely to influence outcomes than school start times. Maintaining hopefulness, I am curious to know if there any data that shows what early school leavers are doing? Are they taking up apprenticeships/traineeships that lead to ongoing work as an alternative?
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1 年I thought the extension of district high schools was meant to solve this problem. From what I have observed it has been a colossal waste of money. Too few students, too few courses on offer, as noted in one other comment. I note the ACT comparison has already been dismissed, and it is true - the socio-economic differences between ACT and Tas are stark. But you know what else comes with that? An attitude that values efucation. I warrant the problems in Tas retention rates have as much to do with generational attitudes as the structure of the system. When I reflect on the experience of my two daughters (and their friends) who attended college, any number of them only went on to Y12 because of the college environment. They were absolutely over the school system up to Y10. They needed change. I agree it is problematic for remote students. That is where regional high schools have a role to play - but the kids still need parental support and role models that value education. Further, there is such a shortage of teachers, I'm not sure where the staff are going to come from to offer broad-based and specialized Y12 education at every high school.
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1 年I would be very interested to know what these Tasmanian Students that were "short-changed" do. Having known several of them leave year 10 to go to the bigger cities and bigger businesses for apprenticeships, FIFO jobs in WA and QLD, actually start studying in Victoria in years 11 and 12 the data needs to be clearly show what makes up that "gap". Simply saying our students dont complete year 12 is only one part of a very complex scenario for Tasmania overall - "shall I stay, or shall I go". Surely if Tasmanian year 10 students leave to go to Melbourne for an Apprenticeship, thats not "short changed" compared to a SA student that finishes year 12 but is unemployed?
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1 年As a recent-enough participant in the Tasmanian high school system, I don't think large changes are needed. Finishing year 12 is NOT a strong indicator of success in life. Some of the most successful people I attended high school with went straight to apprenticeships the actual day after finishing year 10. 11 and 12 in the district highs like Scottsdale is terrible because they can't deliver specialised subjects like e.g. audio design or architecture with out critical mass to get the teachers. All the teachers complain about top heavy management and state governments messing with the curriculum. Trust and empower the teachers. They know what to do.