The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) released ATAR results today to more than 47,000 Victorian Year 12 students this morning, revealing that more than 22,700 VCE graduates received a study score of 40 or higher, and more than 680 received the maximum score of 50.
“Congratulations to every student – you should be proud of everything you’ve already achieved as you move to the next exciting step, whether it be further study, training, the workforce or a gap year,” Victoria’s Minister for Education, Ben Carroll said.
But the most important message of all about today’s ATAR results?
“It’s over,” Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals president Colin Axup says.
“You can stop worrying about it. The reality is, an ATAR doesn’t define an individual, and there are so many different pathways depending on whether you’ve got an ATAR and what the ATAR is, and even if you don’t have an ATAR.”
He says the ATAR a very limited measure of schools’ genuine success in preparing young people for the future.
“Young people’s capacities are not based on just their academic ability to do assignments or sit down and do exams at the end of the year,” Axup says.
“There’s some good work coming out of Melbourne University around that … and hopefully that will lead us down a different path.”
A total of 61,998 students across Victoria will graduate with their VCE, with 97.4 per cent of VCE students completing it in 2024.
There were also 8250 VCE vocational major graduates who gained practical experience in one or more industries through VET studies.
- 41 students received an ATAR of 99.95, including 33 male students and eight females
- the average ATAR was 69.52
- compared to 2023, 2222 more students received their ATAR this year.
School snapshots
Haileybury College
- six students received the highest possible ATAR of 99.95, including 33 perfect study scores of 50
- thirty-seven per cent of students attained an ATAR of 95 or more, placing them in the top five per cent of students
- more than half of students attained an 90+ ATAR, placing them in the top 10 per cent of year 12s.
- Haileybury recorded a median ATAR of 91.
Ballarat Clarendon College
- the class of 2024 at this regional school achieved some impressive ATAR results.
- 90 students – more than half the cohort – achieved above 90, which places them in the top 10 per cent of the state.
- with 174 year 12 students, 74 per cent achieved an 80+ ATAR, placing them in the top 20 per cent of Victorian students.
Mount Scopus Memorial College
- the independent school achieved a median ATAR of 90.4, with 7.2 per cent of students achieving an ATAR above 99
- its median study score was 37, and 31 per cent of study scores were above 40
- up to 29.6 per cent of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above, and more than half (52.8 per cent) achieved an ATAR of 90 and above.
Creativity is more than just a number
To counter the fixation on ATAR results, Collarts, the Australian College of the Arts, has removed the ATAR barrier to entry in an initiative to shatter creative school leavers’ misconceptions that their score defines their worth.
The move is being announced as a quarter of a million Australian teenagers have been anxiously waiting for news today on whether they’ve ‘smashed their ATAR’ and is supported by a film directed by Christopher Tovo that sees creative students smash their ATAR in a different way, using the power of creativity.
Collarts CEO Sam Jacob said the ATAR is a moment in time, not a life sentence.
“It’s time we stop judging the value of a young person by a number. Creativity is key to solving complex problems and our future workforce will depend on it,” Jacob says.
“We care about the unique ways a student has contributed to their community, to caring for country, to honing their craft, not their tertiary rank. And it works: our students go on to be highly successful in their fields.”
Dr Kim Hazendonk, a Clinical Neuropsychologist, argues that the current ATAR system has the potential to negatively impact mental health, especially as it may not accurately reflect the diverse talents of students, particularly when it comes to those with creative skills.
“We need to shift the conversation around education,” Hazendonk says.
“ATARs can be a limiting way to assess a student’s potential. It is important to give credit to the creative and artistic intelligence that is crucial in today’s world.”
