The university report Educational Opportunity in Australia: Who succeeds and who misses out? says that more young Australians are obtaining senior secondary certificates, with some of the strongest growth occurring in Tasmania.

Despite this apparent success the report notes that the growth could be attributed to alternative educational equivalents "that may not deliver the same future outcomes".

The report asks "The school completion rate has risen in recent years, but are all students being well prepared for what comes next? School completion, while important, speaks little to the quality of education received."

For example, Year 12 completion could be ticked off with "equivalent" forms of study such as vocational educational training but also other "unscored" schooling options.

The report said that amongst the mix of unscored options are "many different areas of study with different standards of proficiency even while contributing to the same senior secondary certificates".

This includes an option to undertake subjects that do not receive grades or scores but which still contribute to educational attainment, or the Tasmanian Certificate of Education, and to state school completion data.

The report chose to highlight data from Tasmania and South Australia, with Tasmanian data showing that the rate of senior secondary "attainment" between 2012 and 2018 had increased from 47 per cent to 59 per cent, while the rates of ATAR completion had remained stable.

Some other key findings in the report found that the educational outcome differences between those living in the city areas compared to those regional communities were great.

"The results in this report reveal that young people from poorer families, those living in rural and remote parts of Australia, and Indigenous Australians are being left behind," the report said.

"On the measures of learning, for example, large gaps are evident from the early years to adulthood based on socioeconomic status (SES)."

It found that those in major cities are more than twice as likely to have gained a degree or be studying at age 24 compared to those living in regions and remote areas.

In Tasmania 28 per cent of 24 year olds hold higher education qualifications or are studying, compared to 47 per cent in Victoria and 35 per cent in Western Australia.

When the report looked at 15-year-olds being informed citizens, it found that Tasmania had reduced engagement at 70 per cent, compared to high levels in New South Wales of 80 per cent.