What is an ATAR?
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a number between 0 and 99.95 with increments of 0.05. The ATAR is a RANK that provides a measure of your overall academic achievement in the NSW HSC (Higher School Certificate). It indicates a student's position in relation to that of other students, to allow institutions to rank applicants for selection.
All Australian states calculate ATARs for their year 12 students with the exception of Queensland where an OP (Overall position) is used in place of the ATAR. Every year an independent statistician analyses each state's calculations to determine if there are anomalies or practices that seem to be inappropriate.
Queensland students can apply to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority to receive an ATAR. Occasionally, where it is not possible to separate applicants for very popular courses in Queensland using OPs and field positions, the ATAR may be used.