Poor students 'can be great teachers'

Educators point out that high-school exam results don't reveal the human qualities that make a good teacher. Source: News Limited

STUDENTS who struggle through high school should still be allowed to train as teachers, the nation's biggest teaching university says.

The Australian Catholic University said restricting teaching degrees to the brightest students would be like selecting a cricket team based on hair color.

ACU vice-chancellor Greg Craven said a low Australian Tertiary Admission Rank did not mean a mediocre high school student could not train to be an excellent teacher.

"ATAR rankings don't test the most important qualities of what makes an excellent teacher, which go to character and ethos," Professor Craven said.

"It doesn't show if they like people, can engage with people, have a passion for teaching and want students to learn.

"Without that, you could have an ATAR of 98 and be a rotten teacher.

"It's a bit like selecting the Australian cricket team on the basis of hair colour. It just doesn't go to the fundamental character."

But School Education Minister Peter Garrett yesterday insisted universities would soon have to ensure that all teaching graduates excel at literacy and numeracy.

New teachers would need to rank in the "top 30 per cent of the country" for literacy and numeracy, under a National Plan for School Improvement being developed with state and territory education ministers.

"If people starting their university courses aren't meeting that requirement but can demonstrate potential, universities will have to work with them to ensure they reach these standards before they graduate," Mr Garrett said.

Professor Craven said teachers must be paid more, to attract the most talented Year 12 graduates.

`The truth is, unless we pay teachers a great deal more, the bulk of people will come in (with ATAR) somewhere between 60 and 80," he said.

The ATAR ranks Year 12 graduates on their academic performance, relative to other students.

The top score of 99.95 means the student is in the top 0.5 per cent of Year 12 graduates, while a ranking of 40 means the student's academic results are worse than 60 per cent of graduates.

Queensland, however, has retained its Overall Position system, which ranks students from the highest performance of 1, to the lowest of 25.

The Group of Eight universities - a lobby group for Australia's most elite unis - has called for a minimum ATAR of 70 for entry to teaching courses.

The NSW Government has revealed that a fifth of Year 12 graduates are getting into teaching courses with an ATAR below 60.

Professor Craven said universities that set the bar too high risked locking out Aboriginal students and those from disadvantaged families.

The ACU's ATAR for teaching courses ranges from 59 to 86 for teaching, depending on the campus.

The university has told a Senate inquiry into teaching that ATAR fails to take "human factors" into account.

"It does not measure passion, commitment, communication skills, compassion, enthusiasm, ethics or social disadvantage to name a few attributes which could help or hinder a student or a teacher succeeding in the wider world," its submission states.

"... it is not how a student enters the university, but how he or she leaves the university that is important."

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