Boys outperforming girls ATAR: Number of boys who achieved rank between 95 and 99.95 has grown to 50.89%

Boys have been increasing their hold on WA’s highest-level Year 12 results over the past five years, as the proportion of girls getting top marks has dwindled. Analysis of Australian Tertiary Admission Rank statistics shows the number of boys who achieved a rank between 95 and 99.95 has grown from 723, or 47.29 per cent, in 2020 to 913, or 50.89 per cent, this year. At the same time, the percentage of girls achieving an ATAR at that level fell from 52.71 per cent to 49.11 per cent. It comes after the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre released data on Sunday that showed just 18 of nearly 10,000 Year 12s who sat four or more ATAR exams had achieved the highest-possible rank of 99.95, a so-called “perfect score”. In what is believed to be a WA first, all 18 of this year’s highest-achievers were boys. “It’s normally been the girls that have outstripped the boys,” Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said on Monday about the lack of girls on the topmost rung. “So the boys have fought back.” An ATAR is a ranking that reports a student’s position relative to others of the same age in WA. It is used across Australia for entry to university courses. The fall in the share of girls with ATARs of 95 and above has coincided with a long-term decline in girls studying the two hardest maths subjects, maths specialist and maths methods. Both of those subjects, along with languages, attract a 10 per cent bonus that is added towards a student’s ATAR. Intended as an incentive to encourage Year 12s to take harder maths and languages, the bonus is under review because of concerns it disadvantages students who don’t have access to those subjects. Curtin University head of physics and astronomy Igor Bray said while he did not believe ATAR performance was a big issue, he was concerned that girls were limiting their career options by not taking the highest levels of maths and science, “even though they can”. Professor Bray said more boys than girls studied the two higher-level maths subjects, which meant they would have bonus points added to their ATAR. “My greatest concern is that girls are being actively discouraged from taking the highest level of maths and science, which means the number of career options will be substantially diminished for them in the future,” he said. “For example, we have AUKUS coming. That will have a huge demand for STEM graduates. So the opportunities are going to be there, but we’re losing half the population.” The latest global report card, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, showed that Australia had one of the world’s biggest gender gaps in favour of boys for maths. Enrolments at WA’s only academically-selective school, Perth Modern, which produces a big share of high-achievers, comprised 56 per cent boys and 44 per cent girls this year.