SACE Results

The Hon. S.L. GAME (15:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, representing the Minister for Education, regarding the release of SACE results.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.L. GAME: The SACE Board no longer publicly releases data showing the disparity in results between boys and girls. This policy follows the last published results reported in The Advertiser in 2021 that showed the number of females who achieved an A grade for a SACE subject was 13,692, compared to 7,638 males. In the same year, the average ATAR for females was 74, compared to 68 for males.

In 2021, The Advertiser reported the SACE Board had commissioned research on the problem of boys' educational outcomes, with the current Minister for Education, who was then the shadow minister, commenting that the Liberal government was too distracted to pursue any timely reform. My questions to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, representing the Minister for Education, are:

1. Can the government explain its reasons for no longer publishing SACE data that shows the difference between boys' and girls' results?

2. Given this data is available to schools but not to mums and dads, does the government believe keeping parents in the dark and uninformed is the best way to address the imbalance in SACE results between boys and girls?

3. What is the government's commitment to bridging the educational gap between boys and girls?

4. Is it reasonable to assume that the non-publication of these results indicates the continuing decline in SACE achievements for boys, and that the SACE Board doesn't want the public to know the extent of this decline?

5. When will the results be released of research the SACE Board told The Advertiser in 2021 it would commission into fixing the imbalance in results between boys and girls?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (15:50): I thank the member for her question. I am happy to seek further advice from the minister from the other place.