Scrap the ATAR for 2020: this inhumane ranking system magnifies vast inequality

By Peter Hutton
Community contribution / April 8, 2020

If the ATAR is such a great measure of academic potential, why has no other country in the world picked it up in the 10 years it has been in existence?

Good ideas tend to spread, why hasn’t ATAR?

Because whilst it is very quick to calculate, transparent and appears to provide ...

Economics Teacher

Canberra Grammar School Red Hill ACT

Canberra Grammar School is seeking an outstanding and inspiring Economics Teacher to join our dynamic and collaborative learning community.

Teaching - Secondary / Jul 29, 2026

SEN Teaching Assistant

Veritas Preston

Teaching - Primary / Jul 29, 2026

Cover Teacher

Veritas Leeds

Teaching - Secondary / Jul 29, 2026

School news / Kids who miss preschool more likely to start school behind the eight-ball: new research

Children who attend preschool before starting school are significantly more likely to arrive ready to learn, new research suggests.

Opinion / The truth about First Nations children and schooling has been told, retold and ignored

School news / ‘At odds with wellbeing’: Meta disregarded its research on teen harm, US court hears

Meta Platforms’ leadership disregarded internal research about its Instagram platform’s impact on teenagers as the company sought to maximise profit from young ‌users, lawyers for the US state of Tennessee have told ‌a jury.

School news / Schools under attack: spike in AI-generated face swaps, memes and fabricated stories

The rapid evolution, deployment and accessibility of AI tools, has significantly escalated safety risks associated with sharing photos and videos online – particularly for school communities, eSafety has warned.

School news / ‘Most significant overhaul in a generation’: NT child protection changes put children at greater risk: experts

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss and National Children’s Commissioner Deb Tsorbaris have warned that the human rights of children in the Northern Territory are at greater risk following the p...

School news / Respectful Relationships delivered to WA’s Catholic and independent schools

New teaching resources are now available to support the delivery of respectful relationships education to students in Catholic and independent schools across Western Australia.

School news / ‘Not the product - the operation’: jumping castle maker queries inquest involvement

The maker of a jumping castle at the centre of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy has questioned why it has been involved in lengthy investigations.

Opinion / China has cracked down on AI companions. What can we learn from this?

School news / Insidious incentivising: more protection promised for children from gambling inducements

Gambling regulation will be strengthened as part of Labor’s platform, as the Federal Government is urged for reform to go further.

School news / ‘Not just about better pay’: Vic teachers draw a line in massive stop-work rally

Public school educators have flooded the streets of Melbourne for the second time in just a few months over pay and conditions, their stop-work action causing widespread disruptions to classes across Victoria.

Scrap the ATAR for 2020: this inhumane ranking system magnifies vast inequality

Comments

EducationID

Our services

Ad centre