Directions - May 2018 Special Edition

UAC looks to the future

We’re thrilled to announce that we have officially launched our new brand at a special event held at Carriageworks in Sydney.

Our new brand features a redesigned logo—a modern take on our pathway logo—the introduction of a tagline, and a revamped website. These new brand elements reference our rich past while moving our brand forward.

Our new tagline Access your potential makes a clear promise: UAC can get students started on the journey towards reaching their full potential.

You’ll see the new look anywhere we’re out in public, like careers expos and information days, as well as across all our publications and digital touch-points, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

Our revamped website provides a more dynamic user experience for students, schools and institutions. We encourage you to explore our new site at uac.edu.au and be inspired by our video, Dreamers, below.

How to game the ATAR

UAC's advice is: You can’t.

Dr Rod Yager, Chair of the Technical Committee on Scaling, which is responsible for calculating ATARs, says recent commentary in the media overlooks evidence that students who choose the more demanding maths and English options get higher ATARs than those who choose the easier options.

For instance, looking at students who were placed in the 80th percentile in the 2013 NAPLAN numeracy tests, the students from this percentile group who went on to study Mathematics in the HSC had an average scaled score of 60.3 across their other subjects. The students from the same percentile group who chose to study Mathematics General had an average scaled score of 55.7 across their other subjects. The same phenomenon occurs with the 2013 NAPLAN literacy scores and choice of English subject.

Dr Yager believes this illustrates that there are many factors which are far more important in determining student success than subject choice. ‘The support and encouragement that students receive from their teachers, schools and families to pursue the more demanding options, together with their own desire to be challenged and well prepared for their future, are the real keys to better outcomes.’

We've released a lot of information in the last few weeks, and you can read all our media releases on UAC's website.

For accurate information about the ATAR, visit UAC’s website or contact UAC.