Check-in assessments – Years 3, 5 and 9 (PDF, 600KB)

What are the Check-in assessments?

The Check-in assessments are optional online reading and numeracy assessments designed to assist schools following the disruptions to schooling in 2020. The assessments cover similar aspects of literacy and numeracy as in NAPLAN reading and numeracy tests.

These formative assessments are offered for schools to:

• supplement existing school practices used to identify how students are performing in literacy and numeracy
• help teachers tailor teaching to meet student needs.

This page provides a summary of information and data from the Check-in assessments delivered in 2020.

Each assessment in 2020 was designed to be quick and easy to administer, consisting of approximately 40 multiple choice questions. Suggested completion time was 50 minutes, however, teachers could use their discretion based on the needs of their students.

Students in Years 5 and 9 completed the assessments during Term 3, Weeks 5 to 7 (17 August–4 September). Students in Year 3 completed the assessments during Term 3, Week 10 to Term 4, Week 2 (21 September–23 October).

Initial results were available to schools within 48 hours of test completion, enabling teachers to rapidly move to use the results in addressing learning gaps.

To assist teachers in using the results, test items were aligned to the NSW syllabus, National Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions and teaching strategies.

Student assessment feedback and mapping against the syllabus and learning progressions indicators was made available in the department’s reporting platform, Scout.

Features of the school reports included:

• information at item-level with links to the questions and strategies related to the skill being assessed
• information at syllabus stage and progression level for each student
• feedback on strategies students may have been using if they got the answer correct or incorrect alongside how each student responded.

Records of student achievement of learning progression indicators were also available in the department’s PLAN2 platform, where teachers could monitor student progress and create ‘Areas of Focus’ for targeted teaching and skill development.

Support

Professional learning and assessment support was available to all teachers in participating schools for 2020 assessments. This included how best to make use of the assessment package for each school context, administration of the assessment, how to access and use feedback to help inform planning and strategies for teaching.

As at 10 November, more than 4,700 teachers had accessed:

• online support, including live chat and sessions with other teachers to ask questions and share ideas
• a range of online courses including guided professional learning to support the analysis of their students’ assessment information using a ‘data pathway’ (Terms 3 and 4)
• strategies to identify areas to focus attention in aspects of literacy and numeracy
• teaching strategies to address these areas specific to Years 3, 5 and 9.

Participation rates

Participation in the Check-in assessments was high, with 83% (1,775) of department schools participating (of schools with students in Years 3, 5 or 9). Participation was higher among primary schools than secondary schools, with 88% of all Year 3 students, 86% of all Year 5 students, and 61% of all Year 9 students participating in the Check-in assessments.
Participation was largely representative across various student and school groups.

Table 1: Number of schools and students participating in Year 3 Check-in assessments

Table 2: Number of schools and students participating in Year 5 Check-in assessments

Table 3: Number of schools and students participating in Year 9 Check-in assessments

*Note (for tables 1-3): Remoteness area is based on ASGC2016 remoteness area classifications. Inner regional and outer regional Australia are combined, as are remote and very remote Australia. Percentages of schools participating are calculated based on the total number of schools with enrolments in the relevant scholastic year, for each school type. Figures are based on the test participation data extracted from the test platforms on 10 November 2020.

Summary results

For each 2020 assessment, a quarter of the test items were NAPLAN items with known psychometric properties and difficulty estimates on the NAPLAN scales. This provided the possibility of linking the Check-in assessments with these scales to assist with further analysis.

After scaling and equating exercises for available results from Year 3, Year 5 and Year 9 tests, five assessments in Year 3 reading, Year 3 numeracy, Year 5 reading, Year 5 numeracy and Year 9 numeracy were able to be equated to the NAPLAN scales. Year 9 reading was not able to be linked to the NAPLAN scale due to a range of factors including test design differences between NAPLAN and the Check-in assessment.
As the Check-in assessments were optional, results were weighted (at student level and by prior performance band in NAPLAN test for Year 5 and 9 or prior performance band in Best Start Kindergarten assessment for Year 3, and remoteness) to arrive at population estimates.
Table 4 presents the estimated proportions of students in NAPLAN bands based on Check-in assessments measured in August-October 2020.

Table 4: Estimated (weighted) proportion of students by band, Check-in assessment (August-October 2020)

Note: Check-in assessment results were weighted to arrive at population estimates. Results need to be interpreted with caution as they have larger uncertainty than typical NAPLAN results.

Table 5 presents the mean scaled scores for each assessment, for 2019 NAPLAN and as estimated from Check-in assessments measured in August-October 2020. This table shows the August-October results in 2020 were similar to previous years’ NAPLAN results, assessed in May for Year 3 reading, Year 5 reading and numeracy, and Year 9 numeracy. In contrast, Year 3 numeracy Check-in results in September/October were substantially higher than previous years' NAPLAN results assessed in May (note that NAPLAN did not take place in 2020 due to COVID-19).

Table 5: Weighted mean scores of students in the Check-in assessments, compared to NAPLAN 2019

Note: Due to differences between the Check-in assessments and NAPLAN tests (e.g. test design, purpose of tests), caution is needed when comparing Check-in results to NAPLAN results.

Feedback

The response from schools as to the diagnostic value of the assessments has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers have commented:
“the rich data gleaned is simply amazing!”
and
“as a class we use the Check-in assessment feedback to talk about how we solve number problems and what strategies we use”.

Conclusion

The 2020 Check-in assessments demonstrate the feasibility of conducting formative assessments that provide schools with rapid insight and highly targeted support in a short timeframe and reduced administrative complexity. The high take-up and strong support across schools demonstrates the willingness and ability of schools to use formative assessment to support their professional judgments in rapidly identifying gaps in student learning. The inability to equate Year 9 reading also demonstrates to some degree the limitation of a fast deployment in single state context. In the longer term the availability of pre‑calibrated assessments for use by teachers would further increase the uptake and usability of check-in type assessments.

At the system level, the comparison with 2019 NAPLAN demonstrates that students were generally performing in August-October 2020 at the same levels previously seen in May (with the exception of Year 3 numeracy). This indicates that on average students have fallen approximately 3-4 months behind in Year 3 reading, and 2-3 months behind in Year 5 reading and numeracy and Year 9 numeracy.

• Formative assessment practices in early childhood settings: evidence and implementation in NSW (PDF, 5MB)
• One page summary (PDF, 255KB)
• Read more about formative assessment on Transition to school resources for educators
• Read NSW preschool assessment study: review of formative assessment practices in early childhood settings (PDF, 13.1MB) – a report by Macquarie University which explores the ways NSW early childhood educators are using formative assessment in the services, to identify and plan for the individual learning needs of children to support a strong transition to school.

Summary

This paper aims to support early childhood education (ECE) practitoners and policy-makers by bringing together the available research on formative assessment, contextualised to early childhood education in NSW. Formative assessment is an educational practice that has broad applicability and support.

In this paper, several aspects of formative assessment are discussed:

• What formative assessment is and how it can be used in ECE settings
• Current and emerging evidence supporting formative assessment practices in these settings
• How several NSW ECE services have embedded formative assessment in their practices
• The implications of the research for fostering greater application of evidence-based approaches in the NSW ECE sector.

Related resources

• The transition to school
• A review of the effects of early childhood education
• Evaluation of the transition to school statement

Investigating post-school education, training and employment pathways for secondary students who enrol in vocational education and training (PDF, 1.8MB)

One-page summary (PDF, 153kB)

Background

Vocational education and training (VET) programs have featured in the Australian secondary school curriculum since the mid-1990s. Around this time, the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling specifically recognised the provision of VET programs as a national goal. These programs were targeted at upper secondary students and originally aimed at increasing retention of less academically engaged youth in school and preparing students for employment and further training. However, about 20 years since the introduction of VET programs in schools, there is inconclusive evidence about the extent to which their aims and vision have been realised.
The Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation has conducted an investigation into the post-school education, training and employment pathways of NSW students who recently enrolled in at least one VET course as part of their senior secondary education. In this report, we investigate four research questions:
1. What are the characteristics of the secondary students who enrolled in VET and how do they compare to those of students who did not enrol?
2. Which characteristics independently predict secondary student enrolment in VET?
3. What are the post-school destinations of the secondary students who enrolled in VET and how do they compare to those of students who did not enrol?
4. Which features of VET delivery were associated with post-school destinations?

Key findings

• We found that the characteristics of the secondary students who enrolled in VET were somewhat different to those of students who did not enrol. For example, there were substantial differences in Year 9 NAPLAN Numeracy and Reading scaled scores and student and school measures of socio-educational advantage.
• When we used a multivariable model to investigate the second research question, we found that most of the assessed characteristics independently predicted student enrolment in VET. That is, when we accounted for the relationships between the explanatory variables, we still
found independent relationships between most of the assessed characteristics and student enrolment in VET.
• When we compared secondary students who enrolled in VET to a group of students who had similar characteristics but did not enrol, we found that the students who did enrol were equally likely to much less likely to be not working or studying. These results provide evidence that the provision of VET as part of senior secondary education may help some students transition into work or study after they leave school.
• We found that differences in features of VET delivery (external provider versus VET at school, undertaking a work placement, and certificate level II versus III) were associated with different post-school destinations. For example, undertaking a work placement as part of a VET course decreased the likelihood that a student enrolled in VET would not go on to work or study.

Language, Learning & Literacy (L3) review (PDF, 1.1MB)

One-page summary (PDF, 208kB)

Background

Language, Learning & Literacy (L3) is a pedagogical approach to teaching reading and writing (not a collection of curriculum resources or a programmed scope and sequence). L3 Kindergarten was developed first as a Tier 2 intervention to provide personalised instruction for individuals and small groups of students within a whole class setting. L3 Stage One was developed later not as a tiered intervention, but as a professional learning program for Stage One teachers.

Evaluation

The aim of this review was to examine the design, content and implementation of L3. We used three methods to achieve this: document review, quantitative survey analysis and qualitative interview analysis. This review does not include an outcome evaluation.

In this review, we addressed seven research questions:

1. What was the original research base for L3?
2. How was L3 originally designed and implemented?
3. To what extent does L3 reflect current departmental policies and publications?
4. How is L3 currently designed and implemented?
5. Why did NSW government primary schools choose to use L3?
6. What aspects of L3 are perceived to be working well?
7. What aspects of L3 could be improved?

Main findings

• While L3 drew on some research, it did not draw on the full range of available research into early literacy teaching, especially research that emphasised the use of code-based approaches to early reading instruction through explicit and systematic pedagogies.
• L3 provides only limited ‘systematic’ teaching and a form of ‘explicit’ teaching that is not consistent with current best practice. L3 does not adequately reflect the phonemic awareness or phonics components in CESE’s ‘Effective reading instruction’ literature review. L3 did not include a scope and sequence to systematically structure the introduction of alphabetic code-breaking skills.
• Over time, L3 shifted away from being a closely monitored and targeted intervention to being perceived as a general literacy pedagogy suitable for any school. This shift was exacerbated by a lack of alternative departmental whole class literacy programs from which schools could choose. As the use of L3 expanded to reach an increasingly large and diverse range of schools, departmental oversight and implementation monitoring were reduced. This impacted on the department’s ability to identify which schools were using L3 and to monitor program fidelity, and therefore hindered the ability to evaluate of the impact of L3 on student learning.
• The demand for teacher professional learning in literacy has driven the use of L3. L3 filled knowledge gaps in both pre-service and in-service training in the fundamentals of teaching reading and writing. Many reported that they were impressed with the training model, especially the in-school coaching.
• Three in every five schools reported using L3 in 2019 and implementation of L3 varied considerably between schools. In addition, 84% of these schools reported adopting other programs alongside L3. Two-thirds of schools reported modifying L3.
• Teachers reported that a key strength of L3 was a substantial change in their knowledge, practice and confidence. L3 promoted the use of quality texts and provided specific procedures for talking with students about texts. The five-weekly goal setting and use of data to inform practice supported teachers’ reflective practice.
• Teachers reported that some of the L3 strategies were time consuming and challenging to implement, with some students needing more support than L3 offers. Implementation of L3 also presented challenges for classroom management, with some schools reporting that students struggled with the requirement to work independently during L3 lessons.

Recommendations

1. Consider key elements of the L3 professional learning model for future training.
2. Clarify how best to program and implement the K-6 English syllabus.
3. Clarify how best to differentiate phonics instruction in different contexts.
4. Clarify the purpose of different assessment tools and how to use the data they generate.
5. Develop a logic model and an evaluation plan for a comprehensive outcome evaluation of future programs.

Literacy support for schools and related resources

Since 2017, the department has undertaken a range of strategic activities and developed a suite of new resource to support schools with early literacy instruction. These are available via the links below.

Effective reading instruction in the early years literature review

Professional learning

• Selecting decodable texts for teaching
• Effective reading: phonics
• Effective reading: phonological awareness
• Supporting the emergent writer
• Incorporating explicit teaching strategies

  Other

• Effective reading online resources
• Literacy & numeracy podcast series
• Kindergarten learning packages (learning from home)
• Phonological awareness diagnostic assessment
• Phonics screening check trial (Term 3, 2020)

All school leavers fact sheet (PDF, 315kB) or read online below.

Go to the main post-school destinations 2019 report.

This page provides a high level overview of findings from the 2019 NSW Secondary Students’ Post-School Destinations and Expectations survey of students who left school in 2018, including early school leavers and Year 12 completers. In 2019, a total of 24,912 school leavers completed the survey.

Post-school destinations of all school leavers in 2019

In 2019, 88.5% of all school leavers were in education, training or employment. The remainder were either looking for work or not in the labour force, education or training.

The proportion of recent school leavers involved in higher education, training or employment has remained stable since 2014.

Bachelor degree
36.5% (down 5.1 percentage points since 2014)
VET Cert IV+
5.3% (down 2.1 percentage pointssince 2014)
VET Cert III
3.4% (up 0.3 percentage points since 2014)
VET Cert I-II
1.6% (down 1.3 percentage points since 2014)
Apprenticeship
11.2% (up 1.9 percentage points since 2014)
Traineeship
4.7% (down 0.1 percentage points since 2014)
Full time work
8.7% (up 1.8 percentage points since 2014)
Part time work
17% (up 4.6 percentage points since 2014)

Looking for work
8.3% (up 0.3 percentage points since 2014)

NILFET
3.2% (down 0.2 percentage points since 2014)

Top three areas of education school leavers enter post-school

1. Business management (6.1%)

2. Building (5.9%)

3. Teacher education (5.0%)

Top three post-school work roles for school leavers

1. Sales assistants and sales workers (19.8%)

2. Hospitality workers (16.8%)

3. Storepersons (8.6%)

What are the subgroup differences in destinations?

• Female students were more likely than male students to undertake a bachelor degree, traineeship, VET certificate IV+, VET certificate III or part-time work.

• Male students were more likely than female students to be in an apprenticeship, full-time work, looking for work or NILFET.

• Students who speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do not, to undertake a bachelor degree or VET certificate IV+.

• Students who do not speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do, to be in VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work, part-time work or looking for work.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be in a VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, a traineeship, looking for work or NILFET.

• Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake a bachelor degree or VET certificate IV+.

• Higher parental socioeconomic status (SES) students were more likely than lower parental SES students to undertake a bachelor degree.

• Lower parental SES students were more likely than higher parental SES students to be in a VET certificate III, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work, part-time work, looking for work or NILFET.

• Students living in Greater Sydney were more likely than students living in the rest of NSW to undertake a bachelor degree or VET certificate IV+.

• Students living in the rest of NSW were more likely than students living in Greater Sydney to be in a VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work, part-time work or looking for work.

Comparison of Year 12 completers and early school leavers fact sheet (PDF, 290kB) or read online below.

Go to the main post-school destinations report for 2019

The NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey collects information about students’ main destination¹ in the year after completing Year 12 or leaving school. We spoke to 18,777 Year 12 completers and 6,135 early school leavers.

This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the differences between NSW Secondary School Students who completed Year 12 in 2018 and those who left school in 2018 before finishing Year 12 (known as early school leavers).

Main post-school destination

Year 12 completers were more likely than early school leavers to be in some form of education or training (65.7% compared with 54.2%). Close to half of Year 12 completers were undertaking a bachelor degree, whereas this was the least common destination for early school leavers.

Early school leavers were more likely than Year 12 completers to be in the following destinations:

• Apprenticeships
• Traineeships
• VET Certificate I-II
• VET Certificate III
• Working full-time
• Looking for work
• Not in the labour force, education or training (NILFET)

Bachelor degree

Most common areas of study for Year 12 completers:

• Society and culture 22.6%
• Management and commerce 20.0%
• Health 18.9%

Most common areas of study for early school leavers:

• Society and culture 19.9%
• Health 19.6%
• Creative arts 18.5%

VET certificate IV+

Most common areas of study for Year 12 completers:

• Creative arts 18.3%
• Society and culture 15.4%
• Health 15.1%

Most common areas of study for early school leavers:

• Creative arts 22.4%
• Society and culture 15.8%
• Health 15.7%

VET certificate III

Most common areas of study for Year 12 completers:

• Society and culture 16.9%
• Education 14.4%
• Food, hospitality and personal services 9.2%

Most common areas of study for early school leavers:

• Health 17.1%
• Food, hospitality and personal services 16.6%
• Management and commerce 16.0%

VET Certificate I-II

Most common areas of study for Year 12 completers:

• Mixed field programmes 14.2%
• Management and commerce 10.0%
• Agriculture, environment and related 9.4%

Most common areas of study for early school leavers:

• Mixed field programmes 18.1%
• Health 13.6%
• Engineering and related technologies 13.4%

Apprenticeship

Most common apprenticeships for Year 12 completers:

• Electricians 23.7%
• Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners 17.9%
• Fabrication engineering trades workers 10.2%

Most common apprenticeships for early school leavers:

• Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners 21.7%
• Electricians 13.9%
• Automotive electrician and mechanics 13.4%

Traineeship

Most common traineeships for Year 12 completers:

• Child care workers 26.6%
• General clerks 13.6%
• Sales assistants and salespersons 10.5%

Most common traineeships for early school leavers:

• Child care workers 25.7%
• Sales assistants and salespersons 17.5%
• General clerks 7.7%

Full-time work

Most common occupations for Year 12 completers:

• Community and personal service workers 22.3%
• Labourers 17.6%
• Clerical and administration workers 14.3%

Most common occupations for early school leavers:

• Labourers 33.8%
• Community and personal service workers 15.1%
• Sales workers 13.5%

Part-time work

Most common occupations for Year 12 completers:

• Community and personal service workers 28.3%
• Sales workers 27.4%
• Labourers 11.7%

Most common occupations for early school leavers:

• Sales workers 29.2%
• Labourers 25.3%
• Community and personal service workers 20.1%

Not in the labour force, education or training (NILFET)

Most common reason for Year 12 completers:

• Recreation (gap year) 37.8%
• Informal study or training 23.3%
• Unable to work due to illness 9.1%

Most common reason for early school leavers:

• Recreation (gap year) 26.2%
• Unable to work due to illness 19.5%
• Informal study or training 19.3%

Footnotes

¹A total of ten post-school destinations were defined from responses to a number of items relating to participation in further education and current employment. This classification system is a hierarchical classification system, which prioirities education related post-school destinations over particiaption in employment. As such, it represents a young person's main destination since leaving school.

Regional differences in apprenticeships, traineeships, occupations and areas of study fact sheet (PDF, 480kB) or read online below.

Go to the main post-school destinations report for 2019

The 2019 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey collects information about students' main destination¹ and school experience in the year after completing Year 12 or leaving school early. We spoke to 18,777 Year 12 completers and 6,135 early school leavers.

This page provides a brief overview of regional differences in apprenticeships, traineeships, occupations and areas of study being undertaken by NSW School Leavers in 2019. Region (Greater Sydney, Rest of NSW) is based on the location of the school attended by the student. Greater Sydney and Rest of NSW are based on intuitive groupings of the 28 Statistical Area Levels (SA4) for NSW defined within the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

The most common apprenticeships² of Year 12 completers

Greater Sydney

Elecricians 25.2%
Bricklayers, and carpenters and joiners 20.7%
Plumbers 13.1%

Rest of NSW

Electricians 21.9%
Fabrication engineering trades workers 15.1%
Bricklayers, and carpenters and joiners 14.4%

The most common apprenticeships² of early school leavers

Greater Sydney

Bricklayers, and carpenters and joiners 23.0%
Plumbers 17.8%
Electricians 15.8%

Rest of NSW

Bricklayers, and carpenters and joiners 20.7%
Automotive electricians and mechanics 15.7%
Electricians 12.3%

The most common traineeships³ of Year 12 completers

Greater Sydney

Child carers 28.2%
General clerks 10.4%
Sales assistants and salespersons 8.7%

Attended school in the rest of NSW

Child carers 25.0%
General clerks 16.6%
Sales assistants and salespersons 12.2%

The most common traineeships³ of early school leavers

Greater Sydney

Child carers 37.9%
Sales assistants and salespersons 13.1%
General clerks 8.5%

Attended school in the rest of NSW

Sales assistants and salespersons 20.6%
Child carers 17.2%
Hospitality workers 7.5%

The most common occupations⁴ of year 12 completers

Greater Sydney

Community and personal service workers 26.4%
Sales workers 25.8%
Professionals 14.8%

Rest of NSW

Community and personal service workers 29.7%
Sales workers 26.9%
Labourers 13.9%

The most common occupations⁴ of early school leavers

Greater Sydney

Sales workers 24.7%
Labourers 22.2%
Community and personal service workers 19.5%

Rest of NSW

Labourers 27.6%
Sales workers 24.7%
Community and personal service workers 21.6%

The most common areas of study⁵ of year 12 completers

Greater Sydney

Health 21.4%
Society and culture 18.6%
Creative arts 11.6%

Rest of NSW

Society and culture 21.4%
Health 18.3%
Natural and physical sciences 12.4%

The most common areas of study⁵ of early school leavers

Greater Sydney

Management and culture 16.0%
Creative arts 15.3%
Health 14.3%

Rest of NSW

Health 17.9%
Society and culture 12.6%
Food, hospitality and personal services 7.5%

Footnotes

¹A total of ten post-school destinations were defined from responses to a number of items relating to participation in further education and current employment. This classification system is a hierarchical classification system, which prioritises education related post-school destinations over participation in employmnet. As such, it represents a young person's main destination since leaving school.

²Of those undertaking an apprenticeship

³Of those undertaking a traineeship

⁴Of those who are employed full-time or part-time

⁵Of those undertaking further education

NSW Secondary Students' Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey – technical report (PDF, 4.6MB)

Go to the main post-school destinations report for 2019

This report summarises the data collection and methodological aspects of the 2019 NSW Secondary Students’ Post-School Destinations Survey conducted by the Social Research Centre (SRC) on behalf of the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE).

We are committed to providing accessible content for all users. To request an accessible version of this content, please contact us.

Aboriginal Year 12 completers and early school leavers (PDF, 710kB)

Go to the main post-school destinations report for 2019

This page provides a high level overview of findings from the 2019 NSW Secondary Students’ Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey relating to two different cohorts of Aboriginal recent school leavers: Year 12 completers and early school leavers. The content was produced in collaboration with the Aboriginal Education and Communities Directorate.

Survey sample

• In 2019, 1,007 Aboriginal Year 12 completers and 695 Aboriginal earlyschool leavers completed the survey.
• For non-Aboriginal students, 17,770 Year 12 completers and 5,440 earlyschool leavers also completed the survey in 2019.
• Sociodemographic characteristics were similar between Aboriginal surveycompleters and non-completers, indicating that survey findings arerepresentative of the population of Aboriginal recent school leavers.
• Response rates for both cohorts have remained fairly stable over time,ranging from 43.2% to 50.7% for Aboriginal Year 12 completers and 21% to 26.7% for Aboriginal early school leavers.

Post-school destinations of Aboriginal school leavers in 2019

In 2019, 82.3% of Aboriginal Year 12 completers were in education, training or employment and 63.8% of Aboriginal early school leavers were in education, training or employment.

Post-school destinations of non-Aboriginal school leavers in 2019

In 2019, 92% of non-Aboriginal Year 12 completers were in education, training or employment and 81.3% of non-Aboriginal early school leavers were in education, training or employment.

Post-school destinations of Aboriginal Year 12 completers in 2019

The post-school destinations for Aboriginal Year 12 completers have remained relatively stable over time.

Bachelor degree
24.6% (up 1.6 percentage points since 2014)
VET Cert IV+
6% (down 0.9 percentage pointssince 2014)
VET Cert III
5.4% (down 0.7 percentage points since 2014)
VET Cert I-II
2% (down 2.5 percentage points since 2014)
Apprenticeship
6.3% (up 1.9 percentage points since 2014)
Traineeship
7% (down 1.4 percentage points since 2014)
Full time work
9.9% (down 0.2 percentage points since 2014)
Part time work
21% (up 3.2 percentage points since 2014)

Top five areas of education Aboriginal Year 12 completers entered post-school in 2019

1. Teacher education

2. Nursing

3. Business and management

4. Human welfare and services

5. Communication and media studies

Top five work roles Aboriginal Year 12 completers entered post-school in 2019

1. Hospitality worker

2. Retail sales assistant

3. Store assistant and warehouse assistant

4. Carer and aide

5. Sales support worker

Post-school destinations of Aboriginal early school leavers in 2019

The proportion of Aboriginal early school leavers in employment has increased over time, while the proportion of Aboriginal early school leavers looking for work has decreased over time.

Bachelor degree
0.4% (up 0.1 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert IV+
2.5% (down 1.1 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert III
9.6% (up 3.2 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert I-II
4.9% (down 6.2 percentage points since 2014)

Apprenticeship
16% (up 2.5 percentage points since 2014)

Traineeship
7.5% (up 2.7 percentage points since 2014)

Full time work
8.3% (up 5.1 percentage points since 2014)

Part time work
14.6% (up 3.3 percentage points since 2014)

Top five areas of education Aboriginal early school leavers entered post-school in 2019

1. Building

2. Human welfare studies and services

3. Personal services (such as hairdressing, beauty therapy)

4. Food and hospitality

5. Automotive engineering and technology

Top five work roles Aboriginal early school leavers entered post-school in 2019

1. Retail sales assistant

2. Food preparation assistant

3. Store assistant and warehouse assistant

4. Hospitality worker

5. Sales support worker

In education or training

The proportion of:
• Aboriginal Year 12 completers
• Aboriginal early school leavers
• non-Aboriginal early school leavers
in education or training has remained stable over time.

The proportion of non-Aboriginal Year 12 completers in education or training has decreased over time.

Education changes: Aboriginal Year 12 completers

7.9 percentage point decrease entering business and management studies since 2014 (from 11.7% to 3.8%).
4.9 percentage point decrease entering human welfare studies and services since 2014 (from 8.6% to 3.7%).

Education changes: Aboriginal early school leavers

6.8 percentage point increase entering building studies since 2014 (from 10.3% to 17.1%).
6.3 percentage point decrease entering business and management studies since 2014 (from 9.7% to 3.4%).

In employment

The proportion of:
• Aboriginal early school leavers
• non-Aboriginal Year 12 completers
• non-Aboriginal early school leavers
in employment has increased over time.

The proportion of Aboriginal Year 12 completers in employment has remained stable over time.

Employment changes: Aboriginal Year 12 completers

8.1 percentage point decrease entering a retail sales assistantrole since 2014 (from 23.8% to 15.7%).
6.8 percentage point increase entering a hospitality role since 2014 (from 11.8% to 18.7% of employed completers).

Employment changes: Aboriginal early school leavers

6.6 percentage point decrease entering a farm, forestry and gardern worker role since 2014 (from 10.8% to 4.2%).
6 percentage point increase entering a store assistant and warehouse assistant role since 2014 (from 4.6% to 10.6%).

What are the socio-demographic characteristic differences in destinations of Aboriginal Year 12 completers and Aboriginal early school leavers?

Year 12 completers

• Females more likely to be in a bachelor degree, traineeship or VET Cert III.
• Males more likely to be in an apprenticeship.
• Higher parental SES more likely to be in a bachelor degree.
• Lower parental SES more likely to be looking for work.
• Government school students more liekly to be VET Cert III, looking for work or not in the labour force, education or training.
• Non-government school students more likely to be in a bachelor degree.
• Students living in Greater Sydney more likely than those living in the rest of NSW to be in an apprenticeship.

Early school leavers

• Females more likely to be in a VET Cert III ot VET Cert IV+.
• Males more likely to be in an apprenticeship.
• Lower parental SES more likely to be not in the labour force, education or training.
• Government school students more likely to be looking for work.
• Non-government school students more likely to be in an apprenticeship
• Students living in Greater Sydney more likely than those living in the rest of NSW to be in an apprenticeship.
• Students living in the rest of NSW more likely to be looking for work.

NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences 2019 report (PDF, 962kB) or read online below

NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences – 2019 technical report

Fact sheets

Regional differences in apprenticeships, traineeships, occupations and areas of study

All school leavers

Comparison of Year 12 completers and early school leavers

Aboriginal Year 12 completers and early school leavers

Full paper

The NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey collects information about students’ main destination¹ in the year after completing Year 12 or leaving school early. The survey provides information on education pathways, attainments and destinations of young people in NSW and informs policy making related to students’ post-school education, training and employment.

In 2019, all students who left school in 2018 before finishing Year 12 (known as early school leavers) were invited to complete the survey about their current situation. Among those who finished Year 12, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students who attended Connected Communities schools were invited to complete the survey. A random sample of the other students who completed Year 12 were also invited. A total of 39,336 Year 12 completers and 19,272 early school leavers were invited to take part in the 2019 survey. Responses were received from 18,777 Year 12 completers and 6,135 early school leavers and are analysed in this report².

Year 12 completers

Two thirds (65.7%) of 2018 Year 12 completers were in some form of education or training in 2019. The main post-school destination for this cohort continued to be a Bachelor degree (48.4%). One-quarter (26.1%) were employed (8.4% full-time and 17.7% part-time), while a smaller proportion were looking for work (5.7%), or not in the labour force, education or training (NILFET*; 2.5%. *Not in the labour force means that a person is not working and not looking for work).

Early school leavers

In 2019, the main post-school destinations among 2018 early school leavers were substantially different from Year 12 completers. More than half (54.1%) were undertaking some form of education or training. The most common post-school destination among this cohort was an apprenticeship (29.1%). A quarter of early school leavers were employed (9.8% full-time and 15.2% part-time), while a smaller proportion were looking for work (15.7%), or NILFET (5.2%).

Year 12 completers – where are they now?

In education or training

Two-thirds (65.7%) of Year 12 completers were in education or training in 2019. This is fewer than in each year since 2014.
There has been a 3.5 percentage point decrease since 2018.

Bachelor

48.4% (down 4.1 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert IV+

5.1% (down 2.3 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert III

2.1% (down 0.2 percentage points since 2014)

VET Cert I-II

1.0% (down 0.8 percentage points since 2014)

Apprenticeship

5.1% (up 0.2 percentage points since 2014)

Traineeship

3.9% (down 0.5 percentage points since 2014)

Bachelor degrees were the most popular destination among Year 12 completers despite being down 4.1 percentage points since 2014.

Participation in VET certificate IV+ has also decreased since 2014

For those undertaking a Bachelor degree or VET certificate

What were they studying?

• Society and culture

21.4% (down 2.1 percentage points since 2014)

• Management and commerce

19.0% (down 3.1 percentage points since 2014)

• Health

18.3% (up 3.2 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be studying society and culture, health, creative arts or education.
Males were more likely than females to be studying management and commerce, engineering, natural and physical sciences.

The most common study areas by level of course were:
• Bachelor degree – Society and culture (22.6%).
• VET certificate IV+ – Creative arts (18.3%).
• VET certificate III – Health (14.6%).
• VET certificate I-II – Mixed fields programmes (14.7%).

For those doing an apprenticeship

What type of apprenticeship?

• Electrician

23.7% (up 7.4 percentage points since 2014)

• Bricklaying, carpentry and joinery

17.9% (down 4.5 percentage points since 2014)

• Fabrication engineering trades workers

10.2% (up 8.6 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be undertaking an apprenticeship in food trade.
Males were more likely than females to be undertaking an apprenticeship as an electrician or fabrication engineering trades worker.

For those doing a traineeship

What type of traineeships?

• Childcare

26.6% (up 9.7 percentage points since 2014)

• General clerk

13.6% (up 4.3 percentage points since 2014)

• Sales person or assistant

10.5% (down 14.1 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be undertaking a traineeship in childcare or as a general clerk.
Males were more likely than females to be undertaking a traineeship as an accountant, auditor and company secretary or as a hospitality worker.

In employment and not in education

• Full-time work 

8.4% (up 1.8 percentage points since 2014)

• Part-time work

17.7% (up 5.2 percentage points since 2014)

One-quarter (26.1%) of Year 12 completers were employed and not in education in 2019. Participation in full-time and part-time employment has increased since 2014.

Not in education, training or employment – Looking for work

• Looking for work

5.7% (up 0.2 percentage points since 2014)

One in twenty (5.7%) Year 12 completers were looking for work. This rate remains similar to 2014.

Not in education, training or employment – NILFET

• NILFET

2.5% (down 0.1 percentage points since 2014)

The proportion of Year 12 completers who were NILFET remains unchanged since 2018 (2.5%), and similar to 2014.

For those in employment

What jobs are they doing?

• Community and personal service workers

27.6% (down 0.4 percentage points since 2014)

• Sales workers

26.2% (down 6.7 percentage points since 2014)

• Professional

11.1% (down 3.8 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be working as community and personal services workers, sales workers, or clerical and admin workers.
Males were more likely than females to be working as machinery operators and drivers, labourers, or technicians and trades workers.

For those not in the labour force, education or training

Main reason

• Recreation (including gap year, nothing)

37.8% (down 7.7 percentage points since 2014)

• Informal study or training

23.2% (down 2.2 percentage points since 2014)

• Unable to work due to illness

9.1% (down 1.1 percentage points since 2014)

Among those who were not in the labour force, education or training, there were no differences in the broad main activity categories for males and females.
Males were however more likely than females to report recreational activities as their main activity.

For those who deferred further education

Almost one-third (29.0%) of Year 12 completers who were NILFET indicated they were enrolled in a course of study but have deferred it.

Those who were employed deferred further education at a similar rate:
• 30.0% full-time employment.
• 24.9% part-time employment.

Those who were looking for work were less likely to have deferred a course than those who were NILFET (17.7%).

What are the subgroup differences in destinations?

• Female students were more likely than male students to undertake a bachelor degree, traineeship or VET certificate III

• Male students were more likely than female students to be in an apprenticeship, NILFET or looking for work.

• Government school students were more likely than non-government school students to be in a VET certificate IV+, VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, part-time work, looking for work and NILFET.

• Non-government school students were more likely than government school students to undertake a bachelor degree.

• Higher parental socioeconomic status (SES)³ students were more likely than lower parental SES students to undertake a bachelor degree.

• Lower parental SES students were more likely than higher parental SES students to be in VET certificate IV+, VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work, part-time work or looking for work.

• Students who speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do not, to undertake a bachelor degree or VET certificate IV+.

• Students who do not speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do not, to be in VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work or part-time work.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be in a VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, a traineeship, part-time work, looking for work or NILFET.

• Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake a bachelor degree.

• Students living in Greater Sydney were more likely than students living in the rest of NSW to undertake a bachelor degree.

• Students living in the rest of NSW were more likely than students living in Greater Sydney to be in a VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, an apprenticeship, traineeship, full-time work, part-time work or looking for work.

Early school leavers – where are they now?

In education or training

Over half (54.2%) of 2018 early school leavers were in education or training in 2019. This is fewer than in 2018 (57.1%) but similar to the proportion over the period from 2015 to 2017.

• Bachelor

1.5% (down 0.6 percentage points since 2014)

• VET Cert IV+

5.9% (down 1.9 percentage points since 2014)

• VET Cert III

7.3% (down 0.3 percentage points since 2014)

• VET Cert I-II

3.2% (down 3.8 percentage points since 2014)

• Apprenticeship

29.1% (up 2.9 percentage points since 2014)

• Traineeship

7.1% (up 0.6 percentage points since 2014)

Apprenticeships continued to be the most popular destination among early school leavers. Despite being up 2.9 percentage points since 2014, apprenticeship participation is down 3.3 percentage points compared with 2018 (32.4%).
Participation in VET certificates I-II and IV+ has decreased since 2014.

For those undertaking a bachelor degree or VET certificate

What are they studying?

• Health

16.3% (up 9.0 percentage points since 2014)

• Management and commerce

13.6% (down 5.0 percentage points since 2014)

• Society and culture

13.0% (up 0.7 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be studying health, society and culture, and food
hospitality and personal services.

Males were more likely than females to study information technology.

The most common study areas by level of course were:
• Bachelor degree – Society and culture (19.9%).
• VET certificate IV+ – Creative arts (22.4%).
• VET certificate III – Health (17.1%).
• VET certificate I-II – Mixed fields programmes (18.1%).

For those doing an apprenticeship

What type of apprenticeships?

• Bricklaying, carpentry and joinery

21.7% (up 3.2 percentage points since 2014)

• Electrician

13.9% (up 4.6 percentage points since 2014)

• Automotive electrician and mechanics

13.4% (down 1.6 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be undertaking an apprenticeship in food trade or hairdressing.
Males were more likely than females to be undertaking an apprenticeship in automotive and engineering mechanics, bricklaying, carpentry and joinery or as an electrician.

For those doing a traineeship

What type of traineeships?

• Childcare

25.7% (up 10.5 percentage points since 2014)

• Sales person or assistant

17.5% (down 7.4 percentage points since 2014)

• General clerk

7.7% (down 0.4 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be undertaking a traineeship as a general clerk.
Males were more likely than females to be undertaking a traineeship as a farm, forestry or garden worker.

• Full-time work 

9.8% (up 1.5 percentage points since 2014)

• Part-time work

15.2% (up 3.0 percentage points since 2014)

One-quarter (25.0%) of 2018 early school leavers were employed and not in education in 2019.
Participation in part-time employment has increased since 2014 but remains relatively unchanged from 2018.

Not in education, training or employment – Looking for work

• Looking for work

15.7% (down 1.5 percentage points since 2014)

One-in-six (15.7%) early school leavers were looking for work; down 1.5 percentage points since 2014 but up 2.8 percentage points since 2018.

Not in education, training or employment – NILFET

• NILFET

5.2% (down 1.2 percentage points since 2014)

The proportion of 2018 early school leavers who were NILFET is also down since 2014, accounting for one-in-twenty (5.2%) early school leavers in 2019.

For those in employment

What jobs are they doing?

• Labourers

25.5% (down 2.1 percentage points since 2014)

• Sales workers

24.7% (down 7.0 percentage points since 2014)

• Community and personal service workers

20.8% (up 4.5 percentage points since 2014)

Females were more likely than males to be working as community and personal services workers, sales workers, or clerical and admin workers.
Males were more likely than females to be working as labourers or machinery operators and drivers.

For those not in the labour force, education or training

Main reason

• Recreation (including gap year, nothing)

26.2% (down 2.2 percentage points since 2014)

• Unable to work due to illness

19.5% (down 10.5 percentage points since 2014)

• Informal study or training

19.3% (down 4.0 percentage points since 2014)

Among those who were not in the labour force, education or training, there were no differences in the broad main activity categories for males and females.
Males were however more likely than females to report recreational activities as their main activity.

For those who deferred further education

One-in-twenty (5.3%) of early school leavers who were NILFET indicated they were enrolled in a course of study but had deferred it.

Other cohorts had deferred at a similar rate:
• 3.6% full-time employment.
• 4.7% part-time employment.

• 4.8% looking for work.

What are the subgroup differences in destinations?

• Female students were more likely than male students to be in a bachelor degree, VET certificate IV+, VET certificate III, VET certificate I-II, traineeship, part-time work or NILFET.

• Male students were more likely than female students to be undertaking an apprenticeship.

• Students who left school before the age of 17 years were more likely than those who left school aged 17 years or older to undertake a VET certificate IV+, apprenticeship or traineeship.

• Students who left school aged 17 years or older were more likely than those who left school before the age of 17 years to be in a bachelor degree, full-time work, part-time work, looking for work or NILFET.

• Government school students were more likely than non-government school students to be in part-time work, looking for work or NILFET.

• Non-government school students were more likely than government school students to undertake a bachelor degree, VET certificate IV+ or apprenticeship.

• Higher parental socioeconomic status (SES)³ students were more likely than lower parental SES students to undertake a bachelor degree, VET certificate IV+ or VET certificate I-II

• Lower parental SES students were more likely than higher parental SES students to be looking for work.

• Students who speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do not, to be undertaking a VET certificate IV+ or looking for work.

• Students who do not speak a language other than English at home were more likely than those who do, to be undertaking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be looking for work or NILFET.

• Non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more likely than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake be in a VET certificate IV+ or apprenticeship.

• Students living in Greater Sydney were more likely than students living in the rest of NSW to undertake a bachelor degree or VET certificate IV+.

• Students living in the rest of NSW were more likely than students living in Greater Sydney to be in a VET certificate III or part-time work.

Method

This report provides a brief overview of the main findings of the 2019 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey. Several points should be kept in mind when considering the findings.

A total of ten post-school destinations are defined from responses to a number of items relating to participation in further education and current employment. This classification system is a hierarchical classification system, which prioritises education related post-school destinations over participation in employment. As such, it represents a young person's main destination since leaving school. A full discussion of the classification system can be found in the technical report.

All data are weighted to match relevant population parameters. Survey weighted t-tests have been conducted to assess differences between subgroups and between survey waves. Analyses were conducted in R (R Core, 2017) using the survey package (Lumley, 2017). Results reported as “different” imply that a statistically significant difference at a 99 per cent confidence level has been established. This level has been used due to the large sample sizes.

In some cases values may differ from the apparent sum of their component elements. This is due to the effects of rounding.

Where appropriate, comparisons have been made to previous waves of this survey. Field of education was coded using Australian Standard Classification of Education (Australian Bureau of Statistics catalogue number 1272.0). Occupation was coded to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (Version 1.2, Australian Bureau of Statistics catalogue number 1220.0).

For further information about the survey background and method, please refer to the 2019 technical report.

Acknowledgements

The 2019 NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey was conducted in partnership with the Social Research Centre, a wholly owned of the subsidiary of the Australian National University. The survey is supported by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), Catholic Schools NSW and the Association of Independent Schools NSW. We thank them for their assistance and input into the research. We particularly thank the numerous young people and their parents, carers and/or guardians who gave their time and shared their experiences.

Footnotes

¹A total of ten post-school destinations are defined from responses to a number of items relating to participation in further education and current employment. This classification system is a hierarchical classification system, which prioritises education related post-school destinations over participation in employment. As such, it represents a young person's main destination since leaving school.

²A detailed outline of the survey method, including eligibility to and the selection process can be found in the technical report.

³Parental socioeconomic status (SES) is an individual measure of SES derived from students’ recollection of their parent(s) main occupation and highest level of education. Further information about its derivation can be found in the technical report.