Research reveals better school marks make for higher salaries

The debate over whether your marks at school mean anything in the working world may have received an answer, as research reveals that students with high ATARs earn higher salaries.

A study by the e61 Institute found that at age 30, individuals with Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs) over 98 earn a median salary of $33,000 higher than those with ATARs below 70.

“ATARs are the primary tool used by Australian universities for admissions, yet students do not have data on how ATARs reflect future earnings,” Dr Silvia Griselda, research manager at the e61 Institute, commented.

“To answer this question, we compared the earnings of individuals with varying ATARs who enrolled in university, those who never enrolled, and those who took an alternate pathway. Having a higher ATAR is highly predictive of earnings by the age of 30. Individuals with higher ATAR are more likely to earn higher income.”

Those who did not go to university at all reported earning significantly less than those who did. The research found that for 30-year-old workers without university degrees, approximately one in 10 earns over $115,000, one in four earns more than $80,000, and half earn less than $60,000 annually.

However, there were disparities among the high ATAR scorers, as 30-year-old university graduates with ATARs above 95 found that one in 10 earns less than $30,000 per year, while one in 10 earns more than $156,000.

Michael Brennan, e61 Institute chief executive, said: “As Australia grapples with skills shortages and lower levels of productivity, a new cohort of school graduates are making their way into the workforce and further study. How we equip them for future life is a major determinant of their own earnings and Australia’s future economic success. Our research shows that ATARs can be important, but a range of other factors – observed and unobserved – likely play a role in determining future earnings.”

“Dr Griselda and her team at e61 Institute will be examining the mechanisms behind these findings, including labour participation, hours worked and occupations in future work to further analyse Australia’s education to workforce pipeline, along with their challenges and opportunities.”