Assessing the ATAR: Exploring the use of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)
To Australian secondary school students, the ATAR looms large – a rank, a passport, a marker of success. But how relevant is it? And does it matter more to schools or universities?
The latest report from the Mitchell Institute, Assessing the ATAR: Exploring the use of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), looks to address these questions, casting fresh light on the transition from school to tertiary education in Australia, and its implications for policymakers, system leaders, schools, students and their families.
Anyone currently undertaking senior secondary schooling in Australia (and their families) would be familiar with the acronym ATAR - referring to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. While often misunderstood as a ‘mark’ out of a potential 100, it is in fact a ranking from 0 to 99.95 that represents a student’s relative position compared to their peers.
For some students, it is a welcome signal of high achievement and a passport to new opportunities; for others, it is a cause of anxiety or disillusionment or simply irrelevant to their chosen path.
Existing nationally in its current form since 2009, the ATAR was established to assist tertiary institutions (primarily universities) to ‘sort’ students for selection and admission to high demand courses. Yet it has grown a life of its own beyond this role, existing now as a measure of both secondary school achievement as well as a tool for admission to tertiary education.
Reflecting on the ATAR’s intended purpose, our analysis asks, for whom is it working well, or not so well? Is its use changing over time? And what are the implications for meeting our national education policy objectives?
To senior secondary school students, teachers and families, it may feel as though the ATAR dominates, or at least underpins, every discussion and decision. It can seem as if that one number is critical to future opportunities and pathways. However, our analysis finds the reality is much more nuanced.
There is, in fact, a great deal of variation and diversity in the proportion of Australian senior secondary students opting to receive an ATAR, and the extent to which ATARs are used in tertiary admissions.
The bottom line: 3 in 10 school leavers moving on to university are now admitted without reference to an ATAR.
This insight provides clarity, and perhaps for some, hope, that they are not defined by ‘one number’. However, it also raises many questions - about how to work to achieve our national objectives in education, how we approach national consistency in a federation, and how to manage the growth and maturing of our evolving tertiary system. It also raises even bigger questions - about how to balance fairness, efficiency, equity and opportunity.
Key findings
ATAR & schooling
- In 2024, across Australia, 64% of Year 12 students received an ATAR.
- The proportion of Year 12 students receiving an ATAR varies greatly across the states and territories, from 79% in New South Wales to 38% in Western Australia.
- The proportion of Year 12 students receiving an ATAR is trending down in Western Australia and Victoria (2019-2024). The only state where there has been an increase during this time is South Australia.
ATAR & tertiary admission
- In 2023, there were 230,234 domestic students commencing a bachelor’s degree (honours or pass) across Australia’s universities. Of these, around half, or 115,889, had recently completed secondary education (school leaver cohort).
- In 2023, among this school leaver cohort:
- 63% were admitted to their bachelor’s degree course on the basis of ATAR alone
- 7% were admitted on ATAR plus additional criteria
- 30% were admitted solely on the basis of other (non-ATAR) criteria.
- There is great variation across the 39 universities in the proportion of domestic undergraduate students admitted on the basis of ATAR, from almost 100% at one institution to around 10% at another.
- Victorian-based students have the highest rate of admission based solely on ATAR; Tasmanian-based students have the lowest.
- A greater proportion of high socioeconomic status students are admitted to university on the basis of ATAR only (67%) compared to low socioeconomic status students (55%).
- The proportion of males admitted to a university course solely on the basis of ATAR is 65%, slightly higher than the proportion of females (61%).
- The Group of Eight Universities are the most ATAR reliant when admitting recent school leavers (76% of school leaver cohort admissions based solely on ATAR, rising to 88% when the use of ATAR combined with other criteria is included). Australian Technology Network (ATN) universities are not far behind, with 73% of school leaver cohort admissions ATAR only.
- Universities in the Regional Universities Network (RUN) are the least reliant on ATAR, with only 37% of school leaver cohort admissions based solely on ATAR.
- Courses in Engineering and Related Technologies and Natural and Physical Sciences have the highest proportion of ATAR only admissions (72%).
- Courses in Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies (43%), Education (42%) and Creative Arts (41%) have the highest proportion of admissions based on other (non-ATAR) criteria.
Where does this leave us?
Fifteen years after its introduction, the ATAR operates within a more varied and expanded tertiary education system.
Many universities continue to use the ATAR, but in conjunction with a wider range of selection tools, sparking questions about its changing role and purpose, including its evolving impact on equity, school curriculum and the development of broader capabilities.
The ATAR is no longer the singular gateway to higher education. Yet, despite declining relevance, it maintains an enduring influence, continuing to shape the choices of students, families and schools.
It appears Australia does now have a ‘multitrack’ system. For some, the ATAR paves the way smoothly – a concrete conduit to the next opportunity. While for others it is just one of many stepping stones, in what may be an uneven or challenging path.
