Is it any wonder we have a teacher staffing crisis when educators must endure relentless public derision from self-appointed experts and be lied to by the state government about major policy.

Then there is the decade of systemic underfunding and now the threat of state budget cuts to a public education system where there is no fat.

Instead of respecting the professionalism of teachers and listening to their advice, state governments have ‘chosen their own adventures’ in education and as it turns out apparently misled the community along the way.

Brad Stansfield, former Chief of Staff to Premier Will Hodgman has revealed [Sorell Times column 2 July 2024], that the Liberal Government’s intention was always to abolish the public colleges, after it had extended every high school to year 11 and 12. The then education minister Jeremy Rockliff repeatedly denied that was ever the plan.

The state’s high quality public college system continues to be the target for ideological attacks – and scapegoated for every perceived or actual inadequacy in student achievement.

But there’s no mystery why the government’s Year 11 and 12 extension policy failed to lift attainment rates – it was a thought bubble that lacked an evidence base.

The “abolitionists” conveniently dismiss the ACT’s successful public colleges to argue that no other states have them so then neither should Tasmania. That was the same flawed argument for Tasmania’s change from a three to a four-term school year – that policy also lacked evidence and similarly failed to make a jot of difference to student achievement.

Deceit in the education debate has also been evident in the campaign for another review into Tasmanian education, which is now underway.

Proponents behind the open letter calling for a review are vehemently anti-college but that was not disclosed in their campaign materials.

Here’s Economist Saul Eslake in The Weekend Australian [13 July 2024 ]: “(We must) get rid of the college system and create an expectation, a sense of entitlement if you like, that kids finish year 12 where they start year 7.” Mr Eslake seems unaware that, by law, students are required to be in education or training until either finishing Year 12 or turning 18.

Disappointingly, Mr Eslake also attacked our teachers – describing some as a “privileged elite”. This is the type of abuse that has contributed to the exodus of teachers from the profession and the current crisis.

Fellow education review proponent, Philosopher Michael Rowan, wrote in The Mercury in 2018: “After sifting through a mass of data, Professor Eleanor Ramsay and I came to the conclusion that Tasmania’s college system for senior secondary education is a public policy failure.”

People who signed, in good faith, the open letter calling for a review without knowing the strongly held pre-existing views of the proponents have every right to feel duped.

The dysfunction of the Tasmanian education debate has been noted by the Grattan Institute and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

The State Government commissioned ACER, in 2016, to review Years 9 to 12 in Tasmania and it found that lobby groups and commentators “mismatching” statistics to suit pre-existing views were contributing to “confusion in the public mind” about the quality of the state’s education system. Research, co-authored by Michael Rowan, was footnoted twice in the ACER report.

The Grattan Institute said in its 2018 state-by-state report card that: “Tasmania and the Northern Territory are often thought of as Australia’s education underperformers. But when school advantage is taken into account, this is not the case.”

The Grattan Institute restated its backing of Tasmanian teachers in its submission to the state government’s “Lifting Literacy, Lifting Tasmania” consultation process in 2022. Grattan said that the state’s schools, on average, are “…doing a tough job about as well as other jurisdictions”.

The gold medal for muddling education data must be awarded to reporting of the Productivity Commission’s measure of Year 12 attainment rates.

The Productivity Commission could not be clearer in its statement:“Data is not comparable across jurisdictions…” And the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) explains why “…assessment, reporting and criteria for obtaining a year 12 or equivalent certificate varies across jurisdictions.”

Yet continually Tasmania’s Year 12 attainment rates are directly compared with the national average, and with other states, without the caveat that it is not comparing ‘like with like’.

The problem with comparing apples and pears is it leads to policy lemons – as we have seen.

Whereas other states recognise a number of certificates, Tasmania only reports to the Productivity Commission students who attain the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE). Alternate certificates such as the Tasmanian Certificate of Educational Achievement (TCEA) and the Qualifications Certificate (QA) are ignored.

In South Australia students who fail the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) but manage to complete a full Year-12 level subject receive a Record of Achievement and are reported as Year 12 attainers.

Victoria has counted its “hands on” Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) which students could achieve in just one year of senior secondary study. The VCAL has recently changed but it’s not yet reflected in the Productivity Commission reports.

The TCE requires achievement of 120 points and falling short by a single point, or failing any other criteria such as attendance hours, means absolute failure. 

ACER remarked that Tasmania was unique in that students could “reach the end of Year 12 and not receive a senior secondary certificate that is considered equivalent to the TCE in regard to completion…”

So in other states ‘every child can get a prize’ and just ‘sticking it out’ for a year or two at senior secondary level can be enough to earn you a piece of paper that is counted as “equivalent” to achieving a Year 12 certificate where passing subjects is required.

More light and less heat is needed in education discussions and the professionalism of teachers must be respected and their views front and centre. Most of all the state government must rule out budget cuts, fix chronic underfunding and address the staffing crisis to enable more students to achieve their potential, which is what every teacher wants.

By David Genford, President of the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Education Union