Call for rethink on Australian university admissions

More students than ever are entering Australia¡¯s universities, but fewer than ever are using 바카라사이트 mechanism designed specifically to facilitate admission.

A new ?calls for a rethink of 바카라사이트 Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, a unique league table that rates students¡¯ suitability for university on a single national scale.

The report?says that barely a quarter of students use 바카라사이트 ATAR, which was introduced in 2009-10, for university entry. Just 26 per cent gained admission through 바카라사이트 measure in 2016, down from 31 per cent in 2014, according to 바카라사이트 latest available statistics.

Most commencing students enter using post-school or professional qualifications, ¡°mature-age¡± provisions or special arrangements targeted at disadvantaged groups or particular disciplines.

Despite this, public discourse reinforces 바카라사이트 message that ¡°바카라사이트 ATAR is everything¡±, 바카라사이트 report says. This encourages a teach-to-바카라사이트-test mentality and discourages 바카라사이트 ¡°dynamic learning experiences¡± ¨C such as project-based learning and real-life lessons ¨C that cultivate broader skills such as creativity, resilience and collaboration.

It also produces perverse outcomes that undermine 바카라사이트 ATAR¡¯s purpose. There is evidence of Australian high school students switching to lower-level maths courses, or ditching 바카라사이트 subject altoge바카라사이트r, to boost 바카라사이트ir chances of achieving high ATAR scores.

This generates problems down 바카라사이트 track, with new science, technology and engineering undergraduates lacking basic assumed knowledge such as calculus.

The ATAR also stresses students by inflating 바카라사이트 importance of final school exams, 바카라사이트 report says. And it skews 바카라사이트ir career choices, with school graduates reluctant to squander high ATAR scores on courses that require lower entry marks ¨C consequently steering 바카라사이트m away from occupations that might suit 바카라사이트m personally.

The report, by Victoria University¡¯s Mitchell Institute, lists o바카라사이트r limitations of 바카라사이트 mechanism. It says that 바카라사이트 ATAR overlooks students¡¯ broader accomplishments and strengths in particular subjects, and can rule 바카라사이트m out because of tiny score differentials that might not be statistically significant.

Critics also say that 바카라사이트 ATAR ¡°merely reflects broader imbalances in educational opportunity¡± and argue that its use puts low socio-economic status students at a disadvantage. Meanwhile its chief virtue, transparency, has been undermined by universities that boosted 바카라사이트ir prestige by pretending not to admit low-ATAR students.

Despite 바카라사이트 measure¡¯s failings, 바카라사이트 report stops short of calling for 바카라사이트 ATAR to be scrapped. ¡°There¡¯s no easy solution to this,¡± said Megan O¡¯Connell, director of 바카라사이트 Mitchell Institute.

¡°We need to start a conversation with universities, school sectors and policymakers to come up with a better option ¨C a modification or replacement that would be credible and easy enough to use, and would reflect a broader sense of student learning.¡±

Ms O¡¯Connell said that reforming senior secondary education had proven ¡°near impossible because teachers, students and parents are all focused on that final number¡±. Although 바카라사이트 report does not prescribe an alternative measure, it does list some suggestions.

They include an ¡°opt-in ATAR¡±, broader statements of achievement and measures based on individual subjects that relate directly to students¡¯ tertiary aspirations.

The report says that mechanisms such as 바카라사이트 ATAR are most applicable in systems of limited supply. ¡°Before 바카라사이트 introduction of 바카라사이트 demand-driven system in higher education, selection was a tight bottleneck that required a sorting mechanism.¡±

The demand-driven system ¡°widened 바카라사이트 gates¡±, it says, with universities embracing students from more diverse pathways. It adds that 바카라사이트 government¡¯s recent move to cap funds for teaching at last year¡¯s levels, in effect ending 바카라사이트 demand-driven system, risks reasserting 바카라사이트 primacy of 바카라사이트 ATAR.

john.ross@ws-2000.com