ATAR not the only pathway, says education leader

Mark Scott AO, Secretary of NSW Department of Education delivering keynote speech at Ideas 2170 – South West Sydney: Education’s Field of Dreams at WSU Liverpool CBD Campus.

Mark Scott, Secretary of the Department of Education, has challenged universities’ reliance on the HSC and ATAR as key indicators of student potential and praised Western Sydney University for opening other pathways to higher education.

Mr Scott was speaking on the future of education in South West Sydney at the first Ideas 2170, a series of public discussions co-hosted by Liverpool City Council and WSU.

“The ATAR was never designed for the school retention rates we have now with nearly 8 in 10 students continuing on to do the HSC,” he told the forum on South West Sydney – Education’s Field of Dreams.

“I really admire the great work that’s happened here at Western Sydney University. They are a role model for the rest of the sector by developing a suite of innovative pathways for students.”

Mr Scott further predicted the students of tomorrow will tailor their learning to the progression of their careers by mixing and matching units of qualification from different educational institutions, rather than enrolling in a fixed four year degree at university.

The education sector also needs to work on easier pathways for students to move between schools, universities and TAFE, Mr Scott said.

He then joined panellists Cindy Valdez-Adams, Professor Wayne Sawyer and Lila Mularczyk – professionals with decades of experience across classroom teaching, academic research and education policy.

Ms Valdez-Adams spoke about treating students for whom English is an additional language or dialect with deep respect and compassion.

Professor Sawyer shared insights into his research about effective teaching in low socioeconomic status communities and predicted greater diversity in texts taught in next year’s HSC English curriculum.

Ms Mularczyk recalled the lengthy commute from home in Liverpool to university in the inner city and recognised that having high-quality tertiary facilities embedded in a local community is transformative and uplifting for those residents.

Mayor Wendy Waller thanked all involved in organising the forum, the first in a series of public discussions in Liverpool about contemporary topics affecting South West Sydney.