Above and beyond: Achieving remarkable certification reform in the Queensland state schooling sector

The Queensland Department of Education (DoE) has a priority focus on boosting certification rates among young people exiting Queensland state schools. In Australia, receiving a Year 12 qualification is a strong predictor of a person's engagement in work and further study and more education, generally, means better jobs, better health, and less involvement in crime (Lamb and Huo 2017). 'Whatever it takes' (Button et al. 2016) charted the initial steps of the Queensland state education improvement journey and highlighted the role of DoE's Central Office to articulate core policy objectives and expectations, as well as to define a 'sharp and narrow focus' for the initiative. This article documents the next stage of the story: how the initiative was implemented in DoE's regions and schools, and the way changes in practice are now embedded as 'business as usual'.