Megan O’Connell Director, Mitchell Institute,

Victoria University

Peter Hutton Convenor, Future Schools Alliance

Past Principal, Templestowe College

Crunching the number: The use and usefulness of the ATAR

What is an ATAR- and why might we need one?

• transparent and fair way for universities to compare students from a wide range of schools

• a common measure of students’ overall academic performance

• allows admissions decisions to be made quickly and efficiently, in a common timeframe

Context – growth in higher education enrolments

Other roles played by ATAR

• Ranking doesn’t show the full picture

• Less useful in an open tertiary environment

• ATAR as the focus of schooling

• Pressure on students

• Proxy measure of quality – influencing student choice

The Unscored ATAR

• Unscored VCE and VCAL students will be the norm

• Students wanting a scored assessment and/or ATAR will Opt-in each

year for Units 1-4

• Opting in requires certain additional commitments designed to

improve performance both individually and as a group

Non Scored Advantages

• Still receive VCE Certificate, just no ATAR score

• No requirement to sit exams or tests

• Deeper learning of material possible

• Greater collaboration & teamwork for the whole class

• Greater ability to manage/personalise your own learning

• Less anxiety and stress (Preconditions for good learning!)

• Opportunity to be creative in demonstrating understanding- Authentic Learning Products, presentation, discussion, poster, model,

video diary, blog, creative piece

- Group submission possible

Requirement of all VCAL and VCE students

• Sign a general statement of commitment and mutual obligations

• 90% attendance ( Legitimate school & other approved learning activities accepted)

• To be on time. 10 minute lock out rule.

• To complete all pre learning prior to class

• To bring all mandated equipment (including charged laptop as appropriate)

• To actively participate as part of the class

• To complete all nominated homework activities

Opt in additional requirements

• Sign a statement of additional mutual obligations

• Prepare and maintain a goal chart

• Attend one additional “assessment lesson” per subject each 3 weeks

• Attend additional classes/ complete assigned holiday work as prescribed - This amount will be modified based on the student individual goals

• Staff and students at Swinburne University and Templestowe College are

exploring alternative entry pathways for students with the talent and

commitment to succeed at university, but for whom the ATAR system does

not allow them to show their true potential and needlessly restricts them

from pursuing their passions in the senior years.

• The program recognises that students are individuals with individual talents

that may not be recognised by the traditional VCE system

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Swinburn ATEP – Alternative Tertiary Entrance Program

• Access to Swinburne undergraduate and vocational courses subject

to successful completion of all relevant requirements

• Conditional offer of acceptance made to students twelve months

prior to graduation

• Flexible pathways via curriculum stream or project stream

• Transition support throughout the program to prepare students for

tertiary environment and study

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Swinburn ATEP – Alternative Tertiary Entrance Program

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NB: B. Engineering & B. Design – entry requirements may include include pre-requisite VCE programs Alternative entry pathway via UniLink or Associate Degree available

Curriculum stream

• VCE English Units 3&4• Min. study score 25

• 2 x 1st year SUT subjects• Successful completion

Project stream

• VCE English Units 3&4• Min. study score 25

• Major project• Successful completion

Bachelor Degree

Year 2

Bachelor Degree

Year 3/4

Bachelor Degree

Year 1

UniLink

STAT test minimum entry score achieved

• Measuring success at school - If we agree that the ATAR is not the best way to measure the complete picture of student achievement in schools, what other metrics or indicators should we use?

• Tertiary admissions – Do we need a common framework for tertiary admission? Or are we better with a range of approaches depending on the setting?

• Encouraging good choices – How would we design a school to tertiary transition that encourages school leavers to choose courses based on a good fit with their interests, skills and career aspirations rather than ideas of prestige and ranking associated with ATARs?

• Equity – How do we ensure that any system that replaces the ATAR is fair, transparent and doesn’t further disadvantage already disadvantaged students?

• Emphasising achievement rather than relative ranking – How would we design a system that better recognises a student’s individual achievements and strengths, rather than their relative position versus other students?

• Parents – Much of the emphasis on the ATAR is driven by parents and community expectations. How do we shift the broader community’s perception of ‘success’ at the school to tertiary transition?

• An ATAR free world – If the senior secondary years were not dominated by assessments required for ATARs and tertiary admission, what would they look like? What else would you focus on?