Our report card
Learning Together established three main categories for measuring and reporting on the department’s performance:
| Achievement |
The results attained by those to whom services were provided, as well as by the staff members providing them. |
| Participation |
The level of use made of the department’s services, and the department’s success in attracting that participation. |
| Access |
The availability of services and facilities to the department’s clients, and the department’s role in making those services available. |
In working to improve performance in each of these categories the department is committed to a ‘balanced’ approach which stresses that the three performance categories are most likely to be met if attention is also focused in four key supporting action areas, as the following diagram of our report card shows.
This balanced approach now characterises our policy development, our strategic planning, our service provision arrangements and the performance expected of senior officers. This approach enables us to:
- emphasise that success is measured not only in terms of performance but also by the means used to achieve that performance;
- clarify the linkage between the performance indicators and the projects, programs and other initiatives being undertaken to achieve them;
- include factors that could affect future performance as well as indicators that measure what has already happened; and
- provide a comprehensive report on our performance against the standards and initiatives of Tasmania Together and Learning Together.
Key performance measures
| |
2000-01 |
2001-02 |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| Achievement |
|
| Students above the national reading benchmark (error margins not included): |
|
| Year 3 |
91.2% |
95.1% |
96.3% |
96.4% |
N/A5 |
| Year 5 |
81.4% |
94.4% |
96.3% |
95.2% |
N/A5 |
| Year 7 |
- |
- |
88.6% |
88.3% |
N/A5 |
| Students above the national numeracy benchmark (error margins not included): |
|
| Year 3 |
92.8% |
95.6% |
94.1% |
93.9% |
N/A5 |
| Year 5 |
87.6% |
91.7% |
89.2% |
92.4% |
N/A5 |
| Year 7 |
- |
- |
84.0% |
80.6% |
N/A5 |
| Proportion of students successfully completing Year 126 |
|
|
73.0% |
N/A |
N/A |
| Proportion of TAFE graduate students employed following training |
|
|
75% |
75% |
72% |
| Proportion of students successfully completing over 95% of their training |
|
|
66.3% |
70.6% |
73.5% |
| Number of Tasmanian publications or items added to the state record/heritage collections7 |
|
|
19,027 |
39,988 |
82,003 |
| Number of heritage documents and artefacts publicly available in digital format7 |
|
|
8,743 |
9,881 |
14,024 |
Key performance measures
| |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| Participation |
|
| Average daily absentee rate |
7.69% |
7.40% |
7.41% |
| Proportion of students suspended |
3.50% |
4.11% |
4.22% |
| Apparent retention rate in Tasmanian government schools Years 7-12 |
72.9% |
74.5% |
76.0% |
| Proportion of the population aged 15-64 undertaking VET |
10.1% |
11.0% |
11.8% |
| Participation of women aged 15-64 in VET |
8.8% |
9.7% |
10.0% |
| Proportion of total VET students reporting as: |
|
| Indigenous |
2.9% |
2.9% |
3.5% |
| Having a disability |
5.6% |
6.7% |
8.3% |
| From non-English speaking countries |
5.7% |
4.8% |
3.9% |
| Number of students enrolled in VET in Schools courses |
2,995 |
3,019 |
2,796 |
| Proportion of councils with youth advisory committees |
79% |
83% |
76% |
| In-person visits to libraries |
2,928,059 |
2,755,2918 |
2,768,122 |
| Total loans from libraries |
4,528,392 |
4,493,263 |
4,420,969 |
| Use of key State Library of Tasmania web resources |
1,278,997 |
1,380,8618 |
1,559,185 |
| Reference and information enquiries to libraries |
701,271 |
719,209 |
776,666 |
| Number of registered users of Online Access Centres |
55,590 |
59,429 |
69,740 |
| Records retrieved by Archives Office staff for the general public |
29,500 |
30,400 |
27,100 |
| Use of the Archives Office internet site |
2,668,844 |
2,157,280 |
3,110,359 |
Year 3 students above the national reading and numeracy benchmarks
Year 5 students above the national reading and numeracy benchmarks
Key performance measures
| |
2002-03 |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| Access |
|
| Ratio of students to teaching staff in government schools in Tasmania: |
|
| Primary students per member of teaching staff |
16.1 |
16.0 |
15.9 |
| Secondary students per member of teaching staff |
13.4 |
13.4 |
13.2 |
| All students per member of teaching staff |
14.8 |
14.8 |
14.6 |
| Average class sizes (numbers): |
|
| Kindergartens: |
|
| Kindergarten-only classes |
20.2 |
20.3 |
19.5 |
| Kindergarten in combined classes |
17.8 |
18.1 |
18.2 |
| Primary schools: |
|
| Preparatory |
22.2 |
22.0 |
22.2 |
| Year 1 |
23.8 |
23.6 |
23.3 |
| Year 2 |
24.3 |
24.3 |
24.1 |
| Year 3 |
25.0 |
24.7 |
24.5 |
| Year 4 |
25.3 |
24.9 |
24.7 |
| Year 5 |
25.3 |
25.4 |
25.1 |
| Year 6 |
25.2 |
25.3 |
25.1 |
| P-6 overall |
24.8 |
24.6 |
24.5 |
| Secondary schools9 by school type: |
|
| Secondary schools |
24.5 |
24.5 |
24.4 |
| Combined schools |
22.9 |
22.8 |
23.2 |
| All secondary classes |
24.3 |
24.2 |
24.2 |
| Access to internet-connected computers in classrooms (number of students per computer): |
|
| Primary schools |
5.6 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
| High schools |
3.7 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
| Combined schools |
- |
3.4 |
3.5 |
| Colleges |
3.8 |
3.3 |
3.2 |
| Special schools |
2.6 |
3.1 |
2.9 |
| Average across all sectors |
4.5 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
| Community use of Tasmanian government school facilities: |
|
| Average annual hours per school |
- |
410 |
392 |
| Duration of community activity per school (range of hours per week) |
0.1-124 |
0.1-100 |
0.1-70 |
| Proportion of people aged 15-19 employed or in full-time education or training |
89.7%10 |
90.5% |
90.1% |
| Average annual student contact hours delivered through VET in Schools programs |
351 |
395 |
303 |
| Public library internet PCs per 1,000 population |
0.23 |
0.25 |
0.24 |
| Online Access Centres - public access internet PCs per 1,000 population |
0.74 |
0.74 |
0.76 |
Year 7 students above the national reading and numeracy benchmarks
Apparent retention rate in Tasmanian government schools Years 7-12
|
|
Secretary's letter