Survey gains insight into student attitudes on STEM, ATARs and study

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Conducted in March, the ‘Student Edge High School Survey’ looked at students’ attitudes towards STEM subjects, ATARs, homework, study environments and tutoring. Almost 5000 secondary school students were surveyed.

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The survey found that:

  • STEM subjects are well-considered by respondents, ranked highly as a requirement to make the student and Australia successful. Of respondents, 77 per cent believe that mathematics should be compulsory in high school. For science, this figure is 59 per cent.
  • One in three students are unclear about their career choices as they progress through secondary school. The turning point for considering careers is Year 11, although one in four respondents don’t believe they’ll be ready to choose an occupation until they are in (or have completed) further education. More than half (60 per cent) of respondents are looking to enter uni straight out of school.
  • Among respondents, Year 11 seems to be the point at which students understand how the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) works. At Year 12 level, however, 30 per cent of students still don’t understand how it’s calculated.
  • More than half (57 per cent) of respondents agree that homework enhances their learning at school, but almost one in four don’t believe they can access an environment conducive for study outside of school.
  • Tutoring is common, with 27 per cent of respondents accessing some sort of face-to-face study assistance outside of school. Of these, 63 per cent use a tutor to improve their grades — not because their grades are poor, but because they believe they could be better. Almost one in three respondents began receiving tutoring before Year 7.

Visit http://studentedge.com.au for more information.