Tasmania’s students have improved their NAPLAN results, with the largest growth recorded in reading.
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Results for reading across all grade levels have remained comparable with Australia, with considerable overlap in performance in most achievement levels.
The results were released in the Education Department annual report, which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, by Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff.
Grade 9 students have shown the greatest improvement in the proportion of students at or above the national minimum standard in reading, grammar, punctuation and numeracy.
However, in grade 3 fewer Tasmanian students demonstrated higher levels of performance in the upper year levels.
While reading remains an area of strength for Tasmania, other aspects of literacy, such as writing, spelling and grammar and punctuation, show areas of focus to work towards national performance levels.
Mr Rockliff said the annual report showed the government’s plan to improve education attainment and retention levels was working.
“These great results don’t happen by accident – they are the result of a strong focus on education that is delivering record investments and better outcomes for Tasmanian students,” he said.
The report also showed an increase in the number of students attaining the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) for government senior secondary students.
TCE attainment has grown from 48.8 per cent in 2014, to 58.9 per cent in 2017.
“These improvements keep us on track towards our target of 75 per cent of students achieving the TCE in 2022,” the report read.
Mr Rockliff said the report also outlined the next round of expressions of interest for extension schools.
“Extending high schools to year 12 is about keeping students engaged with education for longer so they have the skills they need to get a good job,” he said.
About 38 schools across the state have already extended to offer years 11 and 12, with another five set to expand in 2019. Expressions of Interest for 2020 will remain open until 15 November 2018.
Meanwhile, the TasTAFE annual report was also tabled by Mr Rockliff, which shows there have been 18,144 new enrolments for the vocational education provider in 2017. This is compared to 25,858 in 2016.
“The [TasTAFE] report shows a significant increase in apprentice numbers the past three years, jumping from 3958 in 2015 to 4385 last year,” Mr Rockliff said.
“We are doing everything we can to give our workforce the right skills for the areas that need them, and this increase reflects the strong growth especially in our building and construction sector as we build Tasmania’s future.”
Mr Rockliff said TasTAFE had added additional apprentice classes to help meet increasing demand, in addition to continuing to work in partnership with industry to give apprentices the skills they need.
“It reflects the vital role that TasTAFE plays in developing Tasmania’s skilled workforce and the value it adds to the Tasmanian economy,” Mr Rockliff said.
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