10 May 2018

Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Education and Training

Tasmanian education is on the rise

The most recent data available for Tasmanian students indicates further significant increases in enrolments in schools extended to Year 12, the retention of students from Year 10 to Year 12, and attainment of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE).

There are now 688 students studying in the 38 High Schools around Tasmania that have extended to Year 12 since 2014, this is an increase of 155 students since 2017 and is a clear demonstration that our plan to extend all Government schools to Year 12 is working.

Extended High Schools now account for over 8 per cent of all senior secondary school enrolments, with Tasmania’s eight colleges maintaining the lion’s share of more than 90 per cent of enrolments. Again, this is evidence that colleges will remain a vital component of our senior secondary education system into the future.

Educational outcomes in Tasmania have been steadily improving over the past four years with more students staying in school longer and achieving better results, and the latest retention and attainment figures reflect this.

Our plan to extend High Schools to Year 12 is working – these are the facts:

• 58.9 per cent of young people across Tasmania  in 2017 achieved the TCE, an increase of 2.5 per cent from the year before;
• The TCE  achievement is now up by more than 10 per cent since Labor and the Greens were in Government;
• The Apparent Retention rate now stands at 74.1 per cent, up by almost six per cent since we came to office; and
• The direct retention rate of students, which tracks individual students from Year 10 to 12, are the highest on record at 71.6  per cent.

There is no doubt that Tasmania's education system has changed for the better and we know there is more work to be done. It’s welcome news though, to see we are on track to reach our ambitious target of having 75 per cent of students complete their TCE by 2022 and reach the national average for retention to Year 12.

That is why it’s important that we continue with our strong momentum in providing access to Year 11 and 12 education so that all our young people can complete their education to Year 12.

My warmest thanks and congratulations to all students, and staff on their wonderful achievements in reaching these results.

A link to a graph of the latest retention and attainment data can be found here:   http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/377766/085_18_Education_Retention_and_Attainment_Graph_D004.pdf

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