More high schools are expected to help increase the number of Tamsnaians finishing their secondary education. 

In Tasmania, years 11 and 12 are offered at separate colleges from previous grades, meaning students have to choose to leave high school behind and attend different facilities.

The state also has the worst rate of students receiving year 12 or equivalent qualifications of any state.

Productivity Commission figures show just 58 per cent of potential year 12 students in Tasmania received year 12 or equivalent qualifications, compared to a national average of 72 per cent.

Just 52 per cent of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds finish year 12 in Tasmania, compared to almost 70 per cent of students from wealthy backgrounds.

“There are some families who may not see the value in years 11 and 12,” says Professor Natalie Brown from the Peter Underwood Centre for Education Attainment.

“If there's a history of unemployment or underemployment there's not encouragement for students to go on because that value may not be there.

“They may have caring responsibilities, they may have health issues themselves, it may be that transport is a problem.”

However, plans are afoot for all public high schools to offer grades seven to 12 by the end of next year.

Since the first regional high schools were extended to year 12 in recent years, the number of full-time students continuing from year 10 to year 12 has increased. A total of 56 of the state’s high schools now offer senior secondary courses.

Professor Brown says the results are very promising.

“It's providing terrific options for young people and the programs that are being offered in those extension schools and the colleges are catering for an increasingly diverse cohort of students with lots of different interests,” she has told the ABC.

“We're seeing terrific results and success from those colleges. We're still seeing many students opting for that model, and like everything in education we need to continually review, look at the data and make sure we're making the right decisions for our young people.”