ATAR in the 50s? The universities where struggling students can study teaching

High school graduates with the best HSC marks chose to study actuarial studies, law and engineering this year while some teaching degrees admitted students who had an ATAR in the 50s.

New data shows courses at the University of Sydney and the University of NSW had a median ATAR for entry of 99 and above.

Students were admitted into education degrees with ATARs as low as 51 at the University of Canberra while at Charles Sturt, the University of Newcastle and Australian Catholic University, the lowest ATAR was in the 50s, Universities Admissions Centre data showed.

The median ATAR of all enrolments in some teaching degrees was as low as 62, despite efforts to make the profession more attractive through advertising campaigns and $10,000 pay rises.

Research has shown the aptitude of a teacher has a significant impact on student performance but in the decades since the 1980s, teacher quality has declined, along with Australia’s long-term slide in international academic league tables – with year 9 students at least a full academic year behind equivalent Australian students in the 1990s.

The issue of students with low ATARs being admitted into teaching degrees is not new: a 2020 NSW Teachers’ Federation report said there was a smaller, but significant and growing, number of students from the lowest ranks of high school attainment (the bottom 5 to 10 per cent) who were admitted to initial teacher education programs.

“This situation poses a serious threat, with spiralling and accelerating dynamics negatively impacting on the esteem of the teaching profession, Australian students’ outcomes, and national educational and economic progress,” the NSW Teachers Federation report said.

Before the 2019 election, Labor said it wanted to lift the minimum ATAR to about 80. It did not take the policy to the 2022 election but rather offered $10,000 scholarships to a select number of teaching students with an ATAR of at least 80.

An analysis by economic research institute e61 earlier this year said within the profession, the annual attrition rate for teachers had fallen since 2009 and was actually lower than the turnover rate in all other occupation groups.

However, it said there were fewer new teachers in the pipeline because not as many students chose to pursue a teacher education degree at university. Its analysis said setting a minimum ATAR requirement may reduce attrition by screening out candidates who are less well prepared to deal with the academic demands of teaching.

Its analysis matched ATARs with tax office data. It said very high-ATAR candidates were more likely to switch careers later on because they could get better pay elsewhere.

Recent years have seen a nationwide teacher shortage while about half of the people who enrol in a teaching degree drop out before finishing it.

University of Melbourne higher education expert Andrew Norton said unsuitable candidates for teaching were opting out.

“To me this has been a dilemma for years... if you say no to enrolments, you are actually denying an opportunity to someone who might finish,” he said.

In 2025, there was a 7 per cent increase in applications to enter teaching degrees.

Grattan Institute education program director Dr Jordana Hunter said it was important that teachers had a deep understanding of the subject matter, including in primary school where graduates must teach across maths, English, humanities and science.

“A lot of primary school teachers don’t feel confident teaching maths,” she said.

“There is a lot of work for universities to do to make sure all graduate students have the content knowledge ... it is also important for employers, in particular the public and Catholic system, to ensure students have opportunity to upskill in the subject matter they’re teaching.

“Other countries like England and Singapore invest a lot more in developing teachers’ maths knowledge – we should be doing the same in Australia.”

The University of Canberra had some of the lowest ATARs. Its education faculty dean Barney Dalgarno said circumstances can occur during year 12 that prevent a student from achieving their desired ATAR.

“We believe that it is misleading to judge a teacher education student’s capability solely on the basis of their school academic performance in high school,” he said.

Last year, only 25 per cent of domestic education students at that institution were admitted based on their ATAR due to early entry schemes.

At Australian Catholic University, where the median ATAR was just above 62 for some courses for primary school teaching, its interim executive dean of education and arts Professor Phil Parker said students must pass the rigorous Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment.

“It is rare for students to be accepted with ATARs below the cut off, but when they are, it’s often because there are extenuating personal circumstances that we – like all universities – consider,” he said.