Carine Senior High School back tracks on $500 reward to Year 12 students to lift ATAR exam results

A top-ranking Perth public high school has back tracked on offering students a $500 cash incentive — drawn from taxpayers’ money — to work harder. Carine Senior High School earlier this week told Year 12 students they were to receive the money if their final Australian Tertiary Admission Rank improved on their Year 11 predicted score. However in a letter addressed to parents and caregivers this morning obtained by The West Australian, principal Damian Shuttleworth announced he was scrapping the scheme. “While it was developed with good intentions and the best interests of students in mind, on reflection other incentives would have been more appropriate,” he wrote. “It’s been an extraordinary and very challenging year for Year 12 students. “Our dedicated staff want them to achieve their very best so they can continue on to their desired pathways, and we will continue to support students in every way while they complete their final year of school.” Under the now-abandoned scheme, students who had a predicted ATAR of 80 or above in Year 11 last year would have received $500 if they maintain or improve on that result in Year 12. Students whose predicted Year 11 ATAR was below 80 were set to receive the same sum if they lifted their final ATAR above 80 or improved by more than five points. The top 10 Year 12s who did not take enough courses to qualify for an ATAR score would have also been handed $500. The Education Department was unaware of the scheme. Deputy director-general Stephen Baxter said schools were always encouraged to come up with innovative ways to help students achieve their best. “However, an awards program with a cash incentive ... is not something the department will endorse,” Mr Baxter said. In an email sent to staff yesterday, Mr Shuttleworth said the awards program was designed to motivate disengaged students. Mr Shuttleworth wrote that some university-bound students had been given guaranteed places by the University of WA and Murdoch University based on their Year 11 results because their final year had been significantly disrupted by COVID-19. “I am concerned that students with a predicted ATAR of 80 or above have decided not to engage in their school studies sufficiently this year because of this offer and that the result may be that they disadvantage themselves as they contemplate entering university in 2021 or beyond,” the email said. “I am also concerned that our amazing and dedicated teaching staff of our students on an ATAR pathway are now dealing with a potentially disengaged cohort.” He feared other students at the school — ranked 10th in The West’s Top 50 Schools last year — had also been affected by the “potential disengagement” of ATAR students with unconditional offers. “The plan outlines a strategy to provide recognition of effort, which this award program aims to do by rewarding those students who have maintained or increased their effort and motivation in challenging circumstances,” he said.