Susie O’Brien: Measuring kids on just ATAR is an unfair test

There must be a better way to treat our young people than defining them by their ATAR while assuring them that it does not define them.

I am sick of hearing adults tell young people: “You are not your ATAR”.

Many year 12s waiting for tertiary offers this week don’t believe this empty mantra.

Sadly, they feel their ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) does define them because their entrance into many courses is based on their ATAR score and little else.

Australian National University vice-chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt was one such voice this week, telling young people: “Your ATAR does not define your worth as a human being ... Your kindness and your curiosity – that’s what’s going to keep you on the right path.”

He meant well but it’s a bit rich coming from the head of an institution that selects many students by their ATAR scores. How many courses does ANU select students for on the basis of their kindness and curiosity instead of their ATAR?

PAustralian National University vice-chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt had some interesting advice for year 12 students.

I understand the motivation to allay students’ fears and reassure them that life goes on whatever ATAR score they get.

But it is little comfort to those going through a very anxious time.

Many years 12s feel their worth, success and future path in life is tied to their ATAR score.

It’s because their entrance to most university courses comes down to one academic number heavily weighted towards exams.

All the wonderful things young people do, such as volunteering, or holding down part-time jobs, don’t matter much when it comes to academic marks and uni entrance scores.

Sure, universities take some things into account under some special entrance schemes, but for most students the reality is stark: 13 years, five subjects, five marks, one ATAR.

We need more alternative entry pathways, more early entrance schemes so final exams matter less.

ANU, to be fair, issues more than 5000 early offers to students, not only based on their academic results, but extra-curricular achievements and personal circumstances.

But for most at that university, as elsewhere, it will come down to little more than getting a high enough ATAR.

The brutality of this VCE system was highlighted during Covid. We have record numbers of kids doing an unscored VCE, and higher than ever numbers of special consideration applications and kids dropping out altogether.

We need more alternative entry pathways, more early entrance schemes so final exams matter less, more reliance on life experience and circumstance and less focus on narrow forms of academic achievement.

There must be a better way to treat our young people than defining them by one number while at the same time assuring them that this one number does not define them.