The problem with underachieving high school students attending university

Students with low ATAR scores are more likely to be accepted into universities today than in previous years.

The ‘on-demand’ system implemented a few years ago opened tertiary education up to all comers.

And now, Dr Lawrence Ingvarson from the Council for Educational Research told Tom Elliott he’s concerned about the quality of graduates.

‘People who have not been successful at school are gaining entry to teacher education programs which are quite intellectually demanding,’ Dr Ingvarson said.

He said paying teachers more would be a way of attracting higher-quality candidates.

Tom was concerned that a person who finished in the bottom half of their school year could be teaching his six-year-old.

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