Research and Development of Alternative to the ATAR with Partners, the Australian Learning Lecture

Project Details

During 2019, the ARC collaborated in production of a report published by the Australian Learning lecture.  The report, Beyond ATAR: a proposal for change proposes changes which will impact on the use of that the ATAR system, which ranks all school leavers seeking entry into higher education on a single ranked list.  The proposal is that the ATAR should be supplemented or replaced with a learner profile, be used for all young Australian aged 15, useful to recruiters and selectors, and more supportive of the learning aspiration of young people themselves.

A learner profile is conceived as the way to provide a rich and detailed, flexible but comparable, digestible summary of what a student has learned, linked to evidence. It would showcase the strengths and passions, the patterns of capability and attainments a learner has attained.  Strengths in particular areas can be highlighted, whether they be in maths, or literature, the arts, or in computer programming, hospitality skills entrepreneurship, or in caring skills.

The technical requirements for such as system are substantial, and ARC researchers are leading work in this area.