Academic performances improve when Year 7s enroll in specialised secondary program, says report

MOVING Year 7 students into high school earlier results in better academic performance, an SA principals report has revealed. | VOTE NOW

28/09/2011 NEWS: Generic image of teacher instructing students inside classroom.

• Bid to push Year 7 into high school
• Catholic education system to shift Year 7 into high schools

TEACHING Year 7 students in high school rather than primary school results in better academic performance, principals will soon tell the State Government.

The South Australian Secondary Principals’ Association has finalised its position on moving Year 7 students into high school and will release its recommendations within weeks.

While these remain secret ahead of government briefings, it is known they will be based on studies that have included a review of student performance at Paralowie School, which already has a Year 7 secondary program.

That study found Year 7s in that program achieved better academic results than peers completing Year 7 at a “feeder” primary school.

South Australia is the only state in which Year 7 remains in stand-alone public primary schools, although some are in middle-school settings within R-12 schools.

The State Government has been reluctant to fall in line with the rest of the nation and Education Minister Susan Close yesterday said an expensive reworking of the system “does not have my support”.

Education Minister Susan Close is “wary of a one-size fits all approach without compelling evidence”.

The principals’ study showed continuing Year 7 to Year 8 Paralowie students performed better in both Progressive Assessment Testing and NAPLAN.

Attendance and “wellbeing”, which includes behaviour at school, also improved.

“The anecdotal experience at Paralowie … is that there has been a clear increase in the number of parents wanting to enrol their children in a Year 7 secondary program,” the report also stated.

SASPA president Peter Mader

SASPA president Peter Mader said there was a sense of “inevitability” that SA Year 7 students would eventually move into high school.

“The Year 7 policy changes in Queensland and Western Australia were so successful because their governments set a date far enough ahead to enable effective planning for the transition,” he said.

Dr Close, however, told The Advertiser she was “wary of a one-size fits all approach without compelling evidence”.

“I have therefore asked the department to develop stronger links between primary schools and their local high schools to smooth the transition between years 7 and 8 and to give kids more access to the specialisations in high schools while maintaining the benefits of primary school for kids who can be as young as 11,” she said.

The SA Commission for Catholic Schools wants to align with other states and the structure of the Australian Curriculum, revealing last March it would likely move its Year 7 students into secondary schools in 2019-20.

The State Opposition also wants to make the change in public schools.