Education Department report finds gap in HSC outcomes between rich and poor students

A damning internal report shows NSW students from low socio-economic areas fare far worse in HSC outcomes and ATAR scores than their wealthier counterparts. See the results.

Disadvantaged students were half as likely to achieve a university entry rank as those from higher socio-economic status areas, according to internal Education Department documents.

A dramatic gap in schooling outcomes has been laid bare in the report, which also shows almost twice as many of the 2021 Year 12 cohort who were classified in the highest SES quartile received their HSC than those who were in the bottom.

Titled HSC participation and performance data (2021), the document showed that out of the 54,847 students eligible for an ATAR in 2021, 19,914 came from the highest socio-economic status (SES) quartile, and only 8606 students from the lowest.

As for attaining the HSC, the figures show 12,403 students from lower SES areas were eligible to qualify when the document was published, compared with 21,751 in the highest quartile.

The ATAR, or Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank, is the number between zero and 99.95 that indicates the position of a student in their year group, and is used by universities to select students.

Students at Holsworthy High School sitting their HSC IN 2017.

In NSW, the University Admissions Centre provides an ATAR to secondary school students awarded the HSC who complete at least 10 units of ATAR courses, including two units of English.

The documents were obtained by Labor, which is promising a free permanent tutoring program to help stem the education divide, including HSC attainment.

Describing the report as “damning”, Mr Minns took aim at Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, who he said was more interested in attacking teachers than investing in education.

“This report is damning — my fear is that we have a generation of children who are being left behind due to a lack of investment in education,” he said.

“There is no bigger investment we can make in a child’s life than their education, and a Labor government will fix the decline left by a decade of Liberal-National government.”

Education and Early Learning Minister Sarah Mitchell said more than nine out of 10 school leavers were engaged in education, training or employment last year, the highest level since 2014.

“Narrowing the success of young people down to an ATAR alone is exactly the sort of shortsighted and class warfare narrative that sells our students and families short,” Ms Mitchell said.

“It is important that students — no matter where they live — are able to pursue the pathway that suits them best.

“They shouldn’t be made to feel like failures for preferring a VET pathway or going straight into the workforce which is what the data shows us many students choose to do.”

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