Univerities Admission Index, System Changes - A Proposal by James Schofield
Copyright 2009 James Schofield
The Universities Admission Index is a ranking system which enables academics to calculate with the aid of technolgy, ranks for Australian senior high school students. Queensland is the only state to not adopt the UAI or TER (Tertiary Entrance Ranking) or ENTER system, instead calculating an OP (Overall Position) for students, with OPs ranging from 1 (first in state overall) and OP 25 (last). Some students are ineligible to receive an OP.
It is recommended that all states and territories in Australia adopt the Universities Admission Index system. Also recommended is changing the name given to this rank, therefore ensuring all states and territories' universities calculate a UAI (Universities Admission Index) for students. Ranks will range from 1 - 99.95, with increments of 0.05 separating two students who have achieved similar standards across all of their UAI subjects to the value of 10 units (600 indicative/class-time hours). All student who have received both a School-based Assessment Mark and a Higher School Certificate External Exam Mark in UAI subjects adding to a value of 10 units (600 class time hours per year) will be eligible to receive a UAI. UAIs of 29.95 and below are recommended to be available to low achieving and mentally disadvantaged students for the first time, as it is suggested that Year 10 students who have left school for education at a TAFE college, to join the workforce or to not attend school and follow any path they may choose, not be included in the calculation of the nation-wide Universities Admission Indexes.
Furthermore, it is suggested that scaling be removed from the UAI calculation process. Instead, it is recommended that caps be imposed on certain subjects. A cap would be a way of limiting the maximum mark that is able to be achieved in particular courses. A select range of courses would be capped, each to a different individual mark, and the maximum achievable mark in each HSC subject would be the toal possible marks that may be achieved in the external assessment/exam. Capped subjects would include all the Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, Standard English, General Mathematics, Ancient History, Agriculture, Community and Family Studies (CAFS), Design & Technology, Food Technology, Earth and Environmental Science Geography, Information Processes and Technology, Industrial Technology (all streams) Modern History, Personal Devlopment/Health/Physical Education (PD/H/PE), Textiles & Design and Visual Arts. Caps would also be imposed on all Beginners languages other than English (LOTE) courses, a high cap would be imposed on all Continuers LOTE courses and all Background Speakers LOTE courses would also be capped. Non-UAI subjects, e.g. Work Studies would still be available to students looking for a uniquely practical educational experience.