First round university offers: Jump in average ATAR of aspiring teachers

Some of Victoria’s brightest students want to be teachers, with the average ATAR required for education degrees jumping to 76.2 this year.

This is significantly higher than the ATAR benchmark of 70 set by the Andrews government as part of its push to boost teaching standards.

And it places the average aspiring teacher among the top quarter of VCE students.

One student who obtained a raw ATAR of 98.95 was offered a place in the secondary education course at La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus, while a student with a 98.45 has been offered a spot in Deakin University’s secondary teaching and arts degree in Burwood.

The average ATAR for students wanting to be teachers has risen dramatically.Credit: Joe Armao

A nervous wait came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as more than 51,000 students received a first round university offer.

It became slightly easier for students to secure a spot at university this year, with almost 80 per cent of students receiving a first round offer.

While the average ATAR of aspiring teachers has risen from 62.7 to 76.2 over the past three years, the number of students applying for education courses has declined.

Perhaps deterred by the tough new standards, 10 per cent fewer students applied for initial teacher education courses in 2019, following a 28 per cent decline in the previous year.

Meredith Peace, from the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union, welcomed the rise in ATARs among aspiring teachers.

“This demonstrates people are keen to take up teacher education,” she said.

“Teaching is a very demanding and complex job and requires a broad range of skills and attributes. We need to have a highly-skilled workforce for the future and this shows we are headed in the right direction.”

The average ATAR for high-school graduates who want to be teachers rose to 76.2.

But Victorian Council of Deans of Education president Joanna Barbousas is concerned the new benchmarks could lead to teacher shortages, particularly in rural and regional areas.

The associate professor, who heads La Trobe University’s education department, is worried the new benchmark, along with the compulsory literacy and numeracy test, could discourage some school leavers from becoming teachers.

“Achieving a high ATAR is not a bad thing, but the benchmark will lead to a decline in teachers entering the workforce,” she said.

“The ATAR is only one measurement of being a successful graduate.”

Under state government changes, aspiring teachers had to achieve an ATAR of 65 if they wanted to study teaching last year. This increased to 70 this year.

These benchmarks are based on adjusted ATARs, which take into account special consideration, as well as access and equity schemes for disadvantaged students.

Students applying for teaching degrees in Victoria are now screened for resilience, ethics and empathy.

And earlier this week, The Age revealed recently-graduated teachers would be barred from working in Victorian classrooms if they failed a literacy and numeracy test.

Previously, about one in 20 new teachers approved to work in Victorian state, independent and Catholic schools had failed, or not yet sat the compulsory test.

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said he wanted to attract the best students to teaching so they could deliver the best outcomes for students.

“Everyone knows a great teacher can make all the difference and we’re making sure our teaching courses attract the highest quality students,” he said.

The most difficult non-scholarship courses to get into were Biomedicine/Dental Surgery and Science/Dental Surgery at Melbourne University, where every student had an adjusted ATAR of 99.85 or above.

Students who wanted to enrol in Victoria’s two most popular courses, Arts and Science at the University of Melbourne, required an adjusted ATAR of at least 85. The median ATAR was 91.15 for Arts and 91.8 for Science.

An adjusted ATAR of 85 was the threshold for Science at Monash University’s Clayton campus, while students at Deakin University’s Burwood campus needed an adjusted ATAR of at least 65.2 to be accepted into Science.

The popular nursing course at Australian Catholic University required an adjusted ATAR of 73.7, Applied Science/Physiotherapy Practice at La Trobe University needed a score of 97.15 and the cut-off for Paramedicine at Victoria University was 70.7.

The VTAC first round offers data includes the median ATARs for 764 courses offered at universities and tertiary institutions in Victoria.

Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre director Catherine Wills reminded applicants that there were four more rounds of offers and more opportunities to change course preferences.