Year 9 English marks critical to future job prospects in Australia

One in five teenage boys is semiliterate and new research reveals the link between secondary English results and the ability to land a job.

Students who struggle with English in Year 9 are more likely to be unemployed.

Students who fail English in year 9 have three times the risk of unemployment once they leave school, a study shows.

The clear connection between low literacy and high unemployment is revealed in a Smith Family study of 1500 school leavers from poor families. The finding puts more pressure on educators to ensure that all children leave primary school with the ability to read and write well.

One in five teenage boys and one in 10 girls failed to reach the minimum standard for writing in year 9, based on last year’s National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy tests.

The new study found that half the students who graduated from year 12 in 2020, the first year of the pandemic when education was most disrupted by lockdowns and home schooling, were working or studying full-time in 2021.

Another third worked or studied part-time, but a quarter were unemployed or volunteering.

Students who failed English in year 9, with a D or E on their report card, were three times more likely than high-achieving students to be out of work or study.

Among students with an A or B mark in year 9 English, 66 per cent were in full-time work or study, compared to 52 per cent who passed with a C and just 35 per cent who failed with a D or E.

Nearly 40 per cent of students who failed year 9 English were not working or studying either full-time or part-time.

The rate was three times lower among the high achievers, with only 13 per cent unemployed or volunteering a year after finishing year 12.

Smith Family head of research Anne Hampshire called for more support for struggling students in primary school and the junior years of high school.

“Young people who are struggling … need intensive one-on-one support and small-group tuition,’’ she said.