SA schools telling struggling year 11s and 12s to quit to make their record look better

Students are being encouraged to abandon their studies or move into vocational education courses by schools anxious to maintain high year 12 scores, a report has found.

Secondary students are being encouraged to quit or move into vocational education courses by schools anxious to maintain high year 12 scores, a report has found.

Children and Young Person Commissioner Helen Connolly has criticised the practise, saying it was putting further stress on secondary students already under “overwhelming pressure” to achieve good results.

“Schools should not be adding to this by putting their public image above the wellbeing of students, especially their mental health,” she said.

Ms Connolly said private schools were using the strategy to maintain high ATAR scores for marketing purposes while public schools wanted as many students as possible to obtain their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).

In a new report, Ms Connolly said a statewide survey of 300 year 12 students heard schoolmates had dropped out of private or public schools at the end of year 11.

Ms Connolly said students had told her they were “aware of ongoing pressure being applied to peers who schools believed may not successfully complete their SACE certificate”.

“They suspected that, despite there being a few ‘dropouts’, schools had also asked some young people to leave before they started their final year,” she said.

Former Year 12s Jeremy Wilkinson and Jasmine Thamm were part of the study. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“This was being done either by excluding them or by encouraging them to pursue VET pathways,” said her report. “Young people felt that tactics like these were being applied partly because of the pressure schools are placed under to maintain their SACE completion rates, and uphold their public reputation and standing.”

Ms Connolly said public school principals had told her lower-achieving year 11 students often were encouraged to undertake vocational educational training in year 12 to ensure they passed SACE or consider leaving.

Private school administrators have told The Advertiser it was common to encourage the parents of underperforming year 11 students to move them into the public system rather than continuing paying fees.

Several public secondary principals have confirmed their schools regularly received calls from private schools asking if they could accommodate year 11 students during mid-year intakes. They said the strategy was used by private schools to preserve high SACE pass rates and ATAR scores for marketing purposes.

Ms Connolly said there was concern among year 12 students over the “immense amount of pressure” to achieve high ATAR scores and complete SACE.

“Children as young as eight are saying they worry about year 12 and their future beyond school if they don’t do well on their ATAR,” she said.”

Ms Connolly said her survey, which included conversations with more than 100 students, found year 12 students believed too much emphasis was put on high ATAR scores.

“Young people identified the need to challenge the false and unhelpful narrative around achieving a high ATAR as the only worthwhile pathway post-school,” she said.

“These narratives are dominant in children’s lives from a young age and exacerbate the pressure they feel to have everything figured out by the time they start year 12, let alone by the time they complete it.”

Ms Connolly said students also had told her they did not believe they had received enough support or direction during year 12, especially about their future career choices or study.

Former Craigmore High School student Jasmine Thaam, 18, said there was constant pressure to achieve high ATARS while she studied during 2022.

“I got a good ATAR but in the end I don’t really care about it,” she said.

“I am not going to let it decide what I am going to do. Now I am going to take some time off to travel and work it out for myself.”

Former Bowden Community School student Jeremy Wilkinson, 19, said he had never been comfortable within the mainstream public education system.

“I never cared for ATAR, it is just a number,” he said.

“I know people who don’t even remember their ATAR after three years.”

Mr Wilkinson said he chose to take the SACE option to qualify for further tertiary study.

“Like ATAR though, it doesn’t need to be the ‘be-all and end-all’,” he said.

“I have already done two courses and got a part time job with SA Health. There are other pathways.”

Education Minister Blair Boyer said Ms Connolly’s report provided important insights from young people “that we can use to make our education system better”.

“Our public schools are for every South Australian,” he said.

“It is my expectation as the Education Minister that every student is supported to follow their passion and pathway of choice.”
Mr Boyer said lifting the status of vocational quality was “an equally valued pathway that is so important”.

‘Our public schools are for every South Australian’, says Education Minister Blair Boyer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

“That’s what we are doing with five new technical colleges we promised,” he said.

Mr Boyer said it was important that the SACE “recognises the broad range of skills and knowledge that young people have”.

“The SACE board is working on important changes to the SACE so it better recognises the full range of young people’s capabilities,” he said.

Mr Boyer said Ms Connolly also “rightly” highlighted the need for greater wellbeing support for parents.

“This is a key priority for our government and I am proud to be delivering an additional 100 FTE mental health and learning support specialists in our schools,” he said.