The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre found WA’s ATAR participation rate had dropped to 27.4 per cent

WA’s ATAR participation rate has plunged to a new low, inching closer to just one-in-four people in the Year 12 age group tackling more difficult subjects. The Tertiary Institutions Service Centre, which calculates Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks, found this year’s participation rate had dropped to 27.4 per cent. The rate is based on the proportion of WA’s school-leaving age population who attained an ATAR score after studying four or more ATAR courses. Last year, WA recorded the lowest ATAR participation rate in Australia, with 28.08 per cent. This year 9992 school leavers achieved an ATAR, an increase on last year’s 9722. But the growth in the number of students achieving an ATAR was offset by the number of people of school-leaving age in WA. TISC chair Andrew Taggart said it was “very disappointing” to see the overall proportion of students choosing challenging subjects had dropped again. “It just shows we need to do something to address that fall,” he said. “Recent evidence reinforces that completing one or more ATAR courses is still the best indicator of success at university.” TISC chief executive Andrew Crevald said WA’s current participation rate was up to 30 percentage points below all other mainland States. He said the Federal Government’s Universities Accord report released this year called for an increase in the proportion of university educated Australians aged 25 to 34 from 45 per cent currently to 55 per cent by 2050. “To achieve this increase, the system will need to more than double the number of Commonwealth supported students in universities,” he said. “In ATAR terms, the top 55 per cent are those students with an ATAR of 45 and higher. We should be encouraging all those students capable of an ATAR of 45 and higher to take ATAR courses.” However, Emeritus Professor Taggart said he was optimistic that recommendations from a recent report on secondary school pathways would help grow the number of students choosing ATAR subjects. Education Minister Tony Buti recently released the report calling for a sweeping overhaul of WA’s high school system. He has also warned schools they should not be counselling capable students out of tackling more difficult ATAR subjects to improve the school’s performance. “I want our system to coach students into courses that would challenge them, allow them to reach for the stars, not coach them out,” he said last month. Mr Crevald said the release of ATAR results evoked a range of emotions from students, from exhilaration to disappointment. “However, it is crucial to recognise that every student who challenged themselves by undertaking ATAR subjects in Years 11 and 12 has demonstrated their readiness for university studies,” he said. “Whether achieving a higher or lower ranking, these students have positioned themselves well for the next phase of their lifelong learning journey.”