Letting schools off the hook? Exploring the role of Australian secondary schools in the COAG Year 12 attainment agenda

Abstract

In 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) set a target to lift Australia’s Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate from 83.5 to 90% by 2015. In the context of global financial uncertainty, the target was rationalised as a means for boosting national productivity and developing human capital to help Australia compete in the global knowledge economy. Historically, Year 12 attainment targets have been designed to pressure state and territory education systems to innovate and reform senior secondary curriculums and certificates, as retention and attainment rates depend largely on how flexible, diverse and inclusive the senior years are. In this paper, however, we argue that the COAG Year 12 attainment agenda is flawed and does very little to inspire innovation or reform in Australian senior secondary schools. Our argument comprises three parts. First, we argue that the COAG agenda is based on a weakened measure of attainment which is misleading and directs the burden for innovation away from senior secondary schools. Second, we argue that there are inherent limits in Australian secondary school systems which prevent the depth of innovation required to significantly contribute to raising Year 12 attainment. Third, we argue that the COAG agenda is further weakened by issues of equivalency, quality and comparison. Together, these arguments cast doubt over the value and meaningfulness of the COAG Year 12 attainment agenda and of target setting as a governmental strategy in this context.

Keywords:

• Year 12 attainment
• Council of Australian Governments (COAG)
• Australian secondary curriculum and certification
• education policy and politics

Acknowledgements

This research was supported under the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme for the project titled Senior Secondary Certification: Meeting the national agenda? (LP100200162). Glenn Savage and John Polesel would like to acknowledge the enormous personal and intellectual influence of co-author Jack Keating, who died on July 21 2012 after a battle with cancer. Jack is sorely missed as a friend and colleague. The Jack Keating Fund has been established by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education to honour his legacy and support policy-influencing research in the field of equity in education. For more information and to donate, see: www.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/giving.

Notes

1. COAG is the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia. COAG comprises the Prime Minister, State Premiers, Territory Chief Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA). As such, COAG agreements represent goals shared by all Australian governments.

2. In Australia, Senior Secondary Certificates of Education are issued by individual state and territory governments to certify the completion of senior secondary education, typically awarded at the end of year 12. Senior certificates of education differ considerably across states and territories, in terms of a range of features including curriculum, assessment, reporting and relationships to tertiary entrance rankings.

3. It appears to be widely accepted in Australian political and economic debates that Australia has survived the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) better than other OECD countries. Whilst this might be true in a broader economic sense, young people have not fared so well, with youth unemployment rates rising significantly since the GFC. Australian Bureau of Statistics data, for example, show youth unemployment rates have risen nationally from 17.4% in 2007–08 to 23.8% in 2011–12. These figures are available online at: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/MSB/15.

4. Quote taken from online summary, available at: http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/adelaide_declaration_1999_text,28298.html.

5. In addition to an AQF Certificate II or higher qualification, an ‘equivalent’ was defined by COAG as either the Certificate of General Education for Adults, the International Baccalaureate or another higher education pre-entry course.

6. Source: ‘Compact with Young Australians: Questions and Answers’. Document available online at: http://www.deewr.gov.au/Youth/YouthAttainmentandTransitions/Documents/CompactQAs.pdf.

7. Retention rates and attainment rates are often conflated or confused, but each measure is distinct. The ABS apparent retention rate ‘is calculated by dividing the number of full-time students in Year 12 by the number of full-time students in the base year and converting the figure into a percentage’ (Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40Mar+2011). This is different from the COAG attainment measure, which, as explained, takes a much broader view of attainment and includes year 12 equivalencies.

8. As we argue in the section to follow, discrepancies like these underline problems with the COAG measure and the need for a more consistent measure for year 12 or equivalent attainment.

9. The rate dropped from 86.1% in 2005 to 84.5% in 2009 (ACARA 2011a, 64).

10. Source: ABS 2006 Census data (most recent available).

11. Calculated from Victorian On Track Survey data (DEECD 2010) and Queensland Next Step Survey (DET 2010) data.

12. Quote taken from: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/englishbac/a0075975/theenglishbaccalaureate.

13. Ibid.

14. My School was launched in January 2010 by the ACARA. My School provides information about individual Australian schools, in the form of literacy and numeracy data based on results in the standardised National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests. NAPLAN tests students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in government and non-government schools across Australia.

15. Of course, the speed at which the curriculum or any new certificates are implemented depends to a large extent on the political landscape, and big questions remain about what direction these reforms will take if a Liberal government is elected federally.

16. For legal reasons, we have not named specific providers, however, a simple internet search will reveal a host of fast-tracked courses.

17. These are examples of learning areas in which fast-tracked courses are currently popular.