Year 12 Students in WA Who Get a D Grade Will Still Pass ATAR and Achieve WACE Under New Reforms

You’ll want to check out the reasoning behind it 🤔

A D grade in an ATAR subject will count towards meeting WACE requirements, under new reforms from the West Australian government.

This means that Year 12 students in  WA who get D grades will still be able to pass ATAR subjects and graduate from high school.

This announcement comes from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) as they hope it will increase students tackling harder subjects.

Why is this happening?

In a statement, the SCSA said the decision was supported by “extensive analysis of student data and research that compared ATAR and general course content and standards”.

"This showed that a D Grade in an ATAR course equates to at least a C grade in a comparable general course.

"Because a D grade for an ATAR course has been confirmed as aligning to a C grade in a general course, the WACE will continue to maintain its established standards as a robust, rigorous and contemporary senior certificate of education." 

What do people have to say about it?

The reforms have been met with some support in favour of the changes and many people who are against it.

 “We know kids can choose an easier course to ensure they get a WACE," WA Secondary School Executives Association (WASSEA) president Melissa Gillett told the ABC

"This lets kids try a tougher course, without risking their WACE."

Ms Gillett told the ABC the changes were "not about lowering standards" because students still needed to achieve 14 C grades or equivalents across year 11 and 12.

The change will be in place for year 12 students this year.

In the past few years, the WA ATAR participation rates have been going down with there being an extensive number of ways to attend uni without an ATAR score.

This comes as one third of Australian students are not meeting expectations for NAPLAN results.

If you’re a student in a WA school, do you think this will this help you?