Former teacher Mary Papadakis’ message: An ATAR doesn’t define your kids worth

For VCE students and their families, today is charged with emotion — yet those few digits are neither a guarantee of success nor a measure of failure, just one moment in a much larger journey toward adulthood.

So this is it. The big day. The day Victorian Year 12 students and their families have counted down to, either with anticipation, angst, or apathy — or perhaps a combination of all three.

Today, Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students, including my eldest daughter, will get a ranking they’ve dedicated two years of their lives to achieve.

For some, those Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) digits will be cause for celebration. For others, the result may fall short of what they had hoped.

Either way, the fact is that a ranking does not define anyone. It does not guarantee success, and it is in no way a measure of failure. It is part of a much bigger picture.

But it is one of those moments that will stay with you.

Today VCE students will receive their ATAR scores, which they’ve dedicated two years to achieve. Picture: Tim Hunter

I vividly remember receiving mine (then known as an ENTER score) in a letter. Yes, on paper. Delivered with a knock at the door. Straight to my hand. By a postman. On an actual pushbike.

He stood at the door and asked if he could watch me open it. I politely declined.

Such was the level of public interest in results back then, which has only intensified through live online reveals and widely circulated social media posts.

The celebrations, the attention, the pride is all well deserved. As long as it doesn’t just hinge on a percentage.

Every student getting their results in Victoria today and elsewhere in Australia during the next week should celebrate their accomplishment. And, hopefully, feel a sense of excitement about the future — whatever pathway they choose to pursue.

Although, admittedly, it’s a lot harder now to be excited about incurring a $50,000-plus debt if you’ve got your sights set, as I did, on an arts degree.

Mary Papadakis’ ATAR was hand delivered by a postman straight to her door. Picture: Supplied

But who needs critical thinkers let alone people who can string a sentence together sans AI, right?

Despite the Job-ready Graduates scheme hanging around like a bad smell in a classroom, I hope families and school support networks encourage students to follow their dreams and passions.

Not like my Year 12 careers adviser whose only crude and baseless advice was that a degree in toilet etiquette from the University of Melbourne would be worth more than any degree from anywhere else.

To those receiving their ATARs — congratulations, hold your head high, and good luck.

Mary Papadakis is a journalist and former teacher.

Originally published as Former teacher Mary Papadakis’ message: An ATAR doesn’t define your kids worth