industry & reform
Former NSW Education Department secretary Mark Scott . Photo : Dean Lewins
We accept that many of the services we currently provide for schools and the public need to be improved .
Can do better
Report finds NSW education department is failing on key indicators .
By Wade Zaglas
An analysis of the NSW Department of Education ’ s Annual Report for 2020 has found that the state is not meeting standards it set for itself , and is falling short in areas including HSC results , the proportion of graduating students , wellbeing , and what graduates are involved in after school completion .
Indeed , a number of critical performance indicators set for public schools in 2022 – 23 will not be met given the current trend , and some results could even pale in comparison to targets set in 2018 .
ACHIEVEMENT Excellent HSC results are one of the department ’ s top priorities , with the aim of increasing the proportion of HSC students in the top two bands to 35.7 per cent . Just under 35 per cent of HSC students attained such results in 2017-2018 , but the last two years have seen top-band results dip well below the target , coming at 33.5 per cent , SMH reported .
PARTICIPATION Another concerning trend is the proportion of young people involved in either Year 12 studies or other education , training or work . The 2020 Annual Report shows that , since 2017 – 2018 , participation rates dropped from 89.6 per cent to 86 per cent . The current target is 91.6 per cent .
The Australian Bureau of Statistics ( ABS ) also concluded that the proportion of
15 to 19-year-olds engaged in study or employment has dropped for the third consecutive year to 87 per cent , nearly 10 per cent under the 2022 budget .
“ Youth disengagement carries significant risk of alienation from social and professional opportunities and an increase in welfare dependence ,” the annual report said .
ABORIGINAL STUDENTS Another significant goal , and one of the indicators for the Closing the Gap program , was to lift the proportion of NSW Aboriginal students attaining their HSC to 69 per cent in 2023 . In 2016 – 2017 , only 46 per cent of NSW Aboriginal students were attaining their HSC , while an even lower 45 per cent attained their HSC in 2020 .
WELLBEING In contrast to primary school students ’ wellbeing – which has been in freefall for the last three years – the 2020 Annual Report found that the wellbeing of secondary students has improved , “ albeit from a much lower base ”, SMH reported .
Data on attendance was not recorded due to widespread school lockdowns .
“ We accept that many of the services we currently provide for schools and the public need to be improved – and our reforms for the year ahead aim to make our support services faster , easier and more intuitive . We are also urgently working to meet the challenges of recruiting , retaining , and better supporting our teacher workforce – especially in our remote , rural and regional communities ,” former secretary for the department Mark Scott said in the annual report .
Last year an improvement agenda was released by the NSW education department , with the department setting targets for schools in NAPLAN , HSC performance , attendance and wellbeing . And , at this moment , a review is being scrutinised to establish whether undergraduate “ high achievers ” could be fast-tracked into the teaching profession .
COMMENTARY Head of the Secondary Principals Council Craig Peterson said the COVID pandemic has affected schools and communities in multiple ways , and that targets needed to be supported by “ thoughtful policy and resources ”, SMH reported .
Petersen also questioned whether targets need to be at the forefront of all that educators do , all of the time .
“ The question I would ask is : have we actually lost sight of what ’ s important ?” he said .
“ The teaching and learning , the core business , is what ’ s critically important , and we need to trust our schools , our principals , and let them focus on the children .”
Staffing shortages during the last year was another major issue cited by Peterson .
“ At a really fundamental level , if we don ’ t have staff in schools , we won ’ t have strong results ,” he said .
“ We can analyse the data until the cows come home , but that won ’ t help if we don ’ t have a maths teacher for the HSC .”
A spokesperson for the NSW department of education said it was important to set ambitious targets .
“ Overall , we have seen improvements in attainments towards these targets which have been set for 2022 and 2023 .”
“ Final data depicting the HSC attainment rate for Aboriginal students for 2020 will not be available until early 2022 , to allow for students who choose to take an additional year to complete their HSC .
“ It would not be helpful to make an assumption on these attainment rates without the complete data set .” ■
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