Overview
The Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) is the primary mechanism used nationally for tertiary admissions and indicates a student’s position relative to other students. It is the standard measure of a student’s overall academic achievement in relation to other students where these students have studied different subject combinations.
ATARS are expressed as a number on a 2000-point scale from 99.95 down to 0.00 in steps of 0.05. So the highest ATAR is 99.95, then 99.90, then 99.85, and so on, down to 0.00. ATARS below 30 are reported as ‘30.00 or less’.
More information regarding the specifics of ATAR eligibility and calculating ATARs can be found on the QTAC website.
Who is eligible for an ATAR?
- To be eligible for an ATAR, students must:
- Study a combination of subjects that meets eligibility rules.
- Perform well in those subjects.
- Meet the QCAA English requirement, meaning students must achieve a C grade or better in an English subject, even though English results are not necessarily included in the ATAR calculation.
At Calamvale Community College, all students must study:
- At least one English subject, and
- At least one Mathematics subject.
ATAR eligibility combinations include:
- 5 General subjects
- 4 General subjects + 1 Applied subject
- 4 General subjects + 1 Vocational Education & Training (VET) qualification at Certificate III level or higher (Certificate III, Certificate IV & Diploma)
Assessment
Summative assessment for the ATAR is composed of three Internal Assessment (IAs) pieces and External Assessment (EAs) in the form of external exams in November of Year 12.