In an article published via the EduResearch Matters blog (December 2021), Professor Marcia Devlin (Professor of Learning Enhancement and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Federation University, Australia) proposed we stop obsessing about ATAR scores.

I summarise her argument for you below:

1. Most university place offers are not made on the basis of the published ATAR

1. 1. Almost two thirds of offers go to non-ATAR students
   2. Direct entry is growing with some universities bypassing the ATAR altogether
   3. Students often get into a course with a below the course ATAR threshold anyway.                                                             
2. The ATAR is not a score
   1. It is a numerical ranking derived from senior high-school performance and a complex series of scaling and other adjustments
   2. ATARS are related to percentiles so an ATAR of 49 means the student is ranked at the 49^th percentile of a cohort
   3. No matter how hard a student works no more than 10 percent of students ATAR rankings will be in the top 10% of rankings. That is how rankings work.                                                                                                  
3. The ATAR is linked to socioeconomic status
   1. Evidence points to scores being correlated with socioeconomic status and social capital
   2. Generally speaking students from poor or rural areas have lower ATARS than those from wealthy metropolitan areas. 
4. The ATAR is now used primarily as a marketing tool to an under informed public
   1. When university places were limited, the ATAR was more important
   2. With an over-supply of university places, the ATAR is used as a marketing tool to attract students to certain courses
   3. ATAR entry scores for courses have little relation to the quality of the course.

We could take issue with much of what Professor Devlin is saying but much of it is also worth thinking about. Many high ATAR students struggle at university often because they have been burnt out in striving to get a high score at school. At GPCC we take a much broader view of education than the HSC and an ATAR score. We consider the whole person and believe that working with parents to develop a well-balanced person, sets them up for success in life far better than focussing simply on a score.

We want our students to do well at their studies but that comes because of a happy, settled, focused person who has variety in life and a positive attitude to their own progress. An obsession with the HSC and an ATAR score does not help them to develop well and may in fact lead to a lower result in their study. There are many paths to future study – I took a very circuitous path to university having left school originally at the end of Year 10. I am now accepted into a PhD program, and I think am a reasonable advertisement for not worrying too much about a single pathway to higher study. In recent years, the planned ‘gap year’ has become popular to help school graduates pause and focus on their life purpose before diving into further study or training.

My desire for our students is that they learn who they are, work hard to develop the skills, knowledge and wisdom they need to do well in life and enjoy the journey.

Finally, I commend to you a parent seminar coming up at GPCC led by Collett Smart - ‘Parenting with Purpose – Raising Resilient Kids’ on Thursday 24 March. This character trait (resilience) will help your child succeed at whatever path they decide to follow in life. Register for your free ticket.