Alan Carpenter

Alan Carpenter

Premier; Minister for Federal-State Relations; Trade; Innovation; Science; Public Sector Management

    Public schools students' best performance on record

    13/01/2005 4:00 PM
     
    13/01/05

    Public school students across Western Australia have achieved the best results on record and more than 60 per cent of public schools have improved their performance in the 2004 Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE).

    Education and Training Minister Alan Carpenter said public schools had produced significant improvements in the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) scores, a ranking system used to offer university places to students.

    These schools include:
    • Tom Price Senior High School - up 37.13 to 86.25
    • Gosnells Senior High School - up 15.18 to 73.32
    • Morawa District High School - up 12.35 to 72.25
    • Katanning Senior High School - up 11.86 to 74.
    • Belmont City College - up 11.41 to 71.89
    • Wanneroo Senior High School - up 9.23 to 77.14
    • Sevenoaks Senior College - up 9.01 to 76.86
    • Balcatta Senior High School - up 8.98 to 76.96
    • Geraldton Secondary College - up 6.46 to 72.23
    • Busselton Senior High School - up 6.40 to 73.97
    • Willetton Senior High School - up 6.34 to 81.43
    • Swan View Senior High School - up 5.96 to 74.49
    • Mandurah Senior College - up 5.49 to 74.20
    • Kelmscott Senior High School - up 5.02 to 80.93
    • Duncraig Senior High School - up 5.01 to 78.78.
    Public school students also achieved brilliant results in the recently announced Curriculum Council Awards and Exhibitions for 2004, winning:
    • 17 of the 40 General Exhibitions (awarded to the top 40 students in the State). This represents two and a half times as many as 2003 and is the highest number in more than a decade; and
    • 21 of the 52 Subject Exhibitions compared with 15 in 2003.
    In addition, 10 of the top 25 students in WA who achieved the highest possible tertiary entrance rank of 99.95 were from public schools.

    Mr Carpenter highlighted the performance of Rossmoyne Senior High School in the 2004 Year 12 results and said it was nothing short of extraordinary.

    “Five of the top 10 public school students who achieved the highest possible rank of 99.95 were from Rossmoyne Senior High School, a result believed to be one of the best ever recorded for an individual school in Australia,” the Minister said.

    “Rossmoyne students also won seven of the 40 General Exhibitions which were awarded to the top 40 students in the State in the 2004 Curriculum Council Awards.

    “This is the highest number achieved by any school in 2004 and the highest by any school since 1997, when Christ Church Grammar School won eight.

    “Thirty-one Rossmoyne students made it into the top one per cent of students in WA by achieving a TER of more than 99 - the most successful result out of all schools, with the next closest school having 20 students in the top bracket.”

    Mr Carpenter said 106 public school students from across the State were among the top one per cent of students in WA.

    Students were drawn from schools including:
    • 31 from Rossmoyne Senior High School
    • 14 from Shenton College
    • 13 from Applecross Senior High School
    • eight from Willetton Senior High School
    • five from Churchlands Senior High School.
    Albany, Carine and Kelmscott senior high schools, Como Secondary College, Cyril Jackson Senior Campus and Perth Modern School each had three students in the top one per cent of the State, with Collie and Morley senior high schools each having two.

    Australind, Duncraig, Esperance, Forrestfield, John Forrest, Leeming, Lesmurdie, Lockridge, Mount Barker, Mount Lawley, Narrogin and Woodvale senior high schools, together with Warnbro Community High School, each had one student in the top one per cent of the State.

    The Minister said the outstanding results of so many public school students had translated into more public schools making the top 30 in 2004 across a range of League Tables.

    “Nine public schools appeared in the top 30 TEE schools for 2004 compared to six in 2003,” he said.

    “This includes Churchlands, Collie, Kelmscott, Leeming and Willetton senior high schools, which were outside the top 30 in 2003.

    “Ten public schools were also within the top 30 list in the ‘Schools with Highest Performing Students in Each TER Subject’ league table, which measures how many times a school appeared in the top 10 of all schools in a TEE subject.

    “Rossmoyne again topped the public schools, making the top 10 across eight TEE courses.”

    Mr Carpenter said even though league tables were useful mainly as a marketing exercise for schools, he would still like to see as many public schools in the top 10 and top 20 as there were independent schools.

    “League tables are one of many ways to measure a school’s performance,” he said.

    “However, we need to get beyond the superficial picture they portray and look at results of individual students.

    “I believe the outstanding results of individual students in public schools in 2004 is a better indication of performance, and we can see that there has been dramatic improvement.”

    The Minister said the Academic Performance Improvement Team, formed in May last year as part of the Gallop Government’s commitment to the continual improvement of academic performance in WA’s public schools, had played a major role in the improved performance of public schools in the 2004 TEE.

    He said the team had made a significant impact in a very short time, working with more than 60 public secondary schools across WA.

    The Academic Achievement and Accountability Office - The Triple A Office - announced by the Premier last week would help consolidate the work begun in 2004 by the Academic Performance Improvement Team.

    Minister's office: 9213 6800