But the head of the Tasmanian Principals Association said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report should be taken with a degree of caution, as international results vary.

The report, PISA 2015: A first look at Australia’s results, looked at testing from more than 14,000 Australians from 750 schools for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment.

It measured how well 15-year-olds from across the globe were prepared to use their knowledge and skills in science, reading and mathematics to meet real-life challenges.

TasICT chief executive William Kestin said science and mathematical results were heavily linked with digital literacy skills, including coding, programming, critical thinking and problem solving.

He said these skills were crucial to the jobs of the future and that coding should be a compulsory subject in primary schools across the state.  

Tasmanian Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott said that while we can learn from other areas such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Ontario, efforts to improve educational outcomes should not imitate overseas countries. 

“There are vast cultural differences between these locations,” he said.

“A state in poverty (Tasmania) cannot expect students to achieve standards above international averages.”

Mr Elliott said a four-year funding cycle was needed for schools, in order to give certainty. 

He said the state government’s voluntary six month earlier starting age would help close the gap. 

Tasmanian Society for Information Technology in Education president Martin Chambers said universities needed additional subjects to help teachers-in-training with digital literacy education.