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EDUCATION

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SCHOOLS

In August 2007, there were 277 schools in Tasmania, of which 210 (75.8%) were government schools and 67 (24.2%) were non-government schools. There were 169 (61.0%) primary only schools, 46 (16.6%) secondary only schools, 56 (20.2%) combined primary/secondary schools and 6 (2.2%) special schools.

The number of schools in a particular year can be affected by structural change in the composition of schooling rather than necessarily a change in the number of sites delivering full-time school education. That stated, over the ten-year period 1997-2007, the numbers and proportions of primary only and secondary only schools have remained steady. In 1997, there were 178 primary only schools in Tasmania representing 64.3% of all schools (not including special schools). The corresponding data for secondary only schools were 47 schools representing 17.0%.




SCHOOL STUDENTS

In August 2007, there were 81,859 full-time school students in Tasmania. From 1997 to 2007, the number of full-time students attending government schools fell by 6.3% (from 62,921 to 58,926), while the number attending non-government schools increased by 8.0% (from 21,236 to 22,933).

In August 2007, 55.0% of all full-time school students in Tasmania were attending primary schools (45,006); 45.0% were attending secondary schools (36,853).

In August 2007, apart from the Northern Territory (NT), Tasmania had the lowest proportion of full-time students attending non-government schools (28.0%). By contrast, the state or territory with the highest proportion was the Australian Capital Territory with 41.7%.




There were 1,648 part-time school students in Tasmania in August 2007, a significant decrease (42.8%) on the numbers in 1997 (2,883). There were 5,128 indigenous full-time school students, a significant increase (28.7%) on the numbers in 1997 (3,985).


HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS

In 2006, there were 18,759 higher education students in Tasmania. Of these, 53.0% were female, 76.2% were undertaking a bachelor degree and 16.1% were undertaking postgraduate study. The most popular field of education study by Tasmanian higher education students in 2006 was 'society and culture' (23.2% of all students) followed by 'management and commerce' (18.2%).


AGE PARTICIPATION RATES

The school age participation rate indicates the proportion of the resident population who are at school. Occasionally, a participation rate can exceed 100%, mainly due to the enrolment of students in schools who are not residents of that state. The age participation rates for full-time Tasmanian school students in August 2007 were 99.6% for 14 year olds, 100.5% for 15 year olds, 84.7% for 16 year olds and 63.3% for 17 year olds.

Tasmania's participation rate for 17 year olds was not the lowest of any state or territory. It exceeded that of Western Australia (40.2%), the NT (44.9%) and Queensland (47.8%).


APPARENT RETENTION RATES

The apparent retention rate is the number of school students in a designated level/year of education expressed as a percentage of their respective cohort group. To calculate the apparent retention rate of full-time secondary school students in Tasmania, the total of full-time students in Year 12 in August 2007 is divided by the number of full-time students in the base year, which is Year 7. The resultant figure is converted to a percentage. Care should be taken in interpreting apparent retention rates as the method of calculation does not take into account a range of factors. Please refer to paragraphs 21 and 22 of the explanatory notes in Schools, Australia, 2007 (cat no. 4221.0).

In August 2007, the apparent retention rate of full-time Tasmanian students from Year 7/8 to Year 12 was 65.4%, compared to 58.6% in 1997. The apparent retention rate for females in 2007 was 73.9% and for males 57.4%.

In recent years, apparent retention rates for students in non-government schools have exceeded those for students in government schools. In August 2007, the apparent retention rate of full-time Tasmanian students from Year 10 to Year 12 was 69.0% for those in non-government schools, compared to 63.7% for those in government schools.



STUDENTS ACHIEVING BENCHMARK

In March 1997, all state, territory and commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level.The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) publishes national reports which include the results of testing conducted to identify the achievement of students in each of Years 3, 5 and 7 as measured against national benchmarks for reading, writing and numeracy.

In general, the results for Tasmania for 2006 show that the large majority of Years 3, 5 and 7 students are achieving at the benchmark level or better in reading, writing and numeracy. The highest percentage results for Tasmania were gained by Year 3 and Year 5 students for reading where both cohorts saw 94.1% of students achieving at the benchmark level or better; the lowest percentage result was gained by Year 7 for numeracy (80.4%).

Across all categories and Years except one, Tasmanian female school students achieved better benchmark results than equivalent male school students. The one exception was for Year 7 numeracy where 80.4% of males achieved the benchmark or better compared to 80.3% for females.






SCHOOL TEACHERS

There were 6,927 teaching staff in Tasmania in August 2007. Of these, 4,850 were female and 2,077 were male.

There were 5,800 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff in Tasmania in August 2007. Of these, 4,148 were at government schools and 1,652 were at non-government schools; 2,959 were at secondary schools and 2,841 were at primary schools; and 3,908 were female and 1,892 were male.



The proportion of Tasmanian FTE female teaching staff has continued to rise, albeit slowly, since 1997. Conversely, the proportion of male staff has fallen. In August 2007, 67.4% of all Tasmanian FTE teachers were female; this compared to 64.9% in 1997. In August 2007, 32.6% of all Tasmanian FTE teachers were male; this compared to 35.1% in 1997.

Tasmanian primary schools have significantly more female teachers than male teachers. In August 2007, 79.5% of all FTE teachers in primary schools were female compared to 55.8% in secondary schools. The comparable figures in 1997 were 78.1% and 52.4% respectively.

Overall, in August 2007, the average number of FTE Tasmanian primary school students per FTE teacher was 15.8. In government primary schools the average was 15.6; in non-government primary schools it was 16.6. The equivalent figures for secondary schools were 12.8 students, with an average of 13.1 in government secondary schools and 12.1 in non-government secondary schools.


SOURCES

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA)

Schools, Australia (ABS cat no. 4221.0)

Further information can also be found on the Education and Training Statistics Theme Page of the ABS website.