More Than Your Score

How do we know how our kids are doing at school?

An obvious answer is results. Academic success has a place, so it’s where we begin – with the marks. Numbers are easy to understand because, for the most part, they are the same ones used to measure our own time at school. They allowed us to be compared against those around us, in a language that we, our parents and universities could understand. But what do they allow us to understand, exactly?

A mark lets us understand what a student knew in a given moment, but not how they thought about it more broadly. It lets us understand that a piece of work was finished, but not how a student pushed through when it became difficult. Marks indicate whether something was handed in on time, but not how they managed themselves to get there –  when they were sick, when they worked an extra shift on the weekend or moved house and still got the mark they wanted.

So, an ATAR is a number that means something, but not everything, not in any complete, human sense anyway. It cannot show how a student collaborates, adapts or takes ownership of something difficult or meaningful. It doesn’t capture how they connect with others, generate ideas or manage the demands of their time, friendships and home life. In other words, it tells us very little about who a young person is or how they move through the world.

We recognise that a single number was never meant to carry the full weight of a young person’s potential; it’s only a snapshot serving a specific purpose. At Woodleigh, that distinction matters. Our students complete VCE and move into university pathways, apprenticeships, the creative industries and emerging fields, with one important advantage. They don’t underestimate the importance of achievement, but they better understand their own definition of success.

Industries are changing and new ones are emerging faster than traditional education models can keep up with. It is widely recognised that the ability to think, adapt, collaborate and carry oneself through challenge matters just as much as what a student knows. These are the complex capabilities required not just for success in future work, but also for a fulfilling life.

We want students to achieve academically and to build adventurous, capable minds, too. Not one or the other – both.

A score of 50, 70 or 90 doesn’t tell much of a story. It doesn’t include the 16 camps and three attempts at rock climbing that finally became one victorious climb. Or the 37 sandwiches made for local school kids and the 17 songs in 11 Musicales they performed in, the one they sang a solo in (and the one where they fell off the stage) and they definitely don’t count the bonds formed over 1500 lunchtimes spent hanging out with friends.

But at Woodleigh, by Year 10, the beginning of the business end, those numbers are steadily accumulating, and the way they fit into this developmental window is well understood.

In Term 1 of Year 10, students focus on identity and learning habits. This culminates in the entire cohort heading to Hattah Kulkyne National Park for a deliberately challenging expedition that pushes physical, social and emotional limits. Their own capacity to do hard things, collectively and individually, grows in real time. Why does it matter? Because self-belief pushes academic growth. As do twenty-eight small, salty meals, damp socks, a few tears, three new friendships and 12 belly laughs. Many songs sung and after seven skipped showers, this understanding that there is more capacity to deal with difficulty is folded into their ATAR story.

In Term 2, as part of their academic work, students explore the future of work, emerging technologies and possibilities of their future world. The entire cohort engages with real problems alongside local communities, pushing their ability to think ahead, respond and adapt. Why do it this way? Why does it matter? Knowing how to start something and that there are outcomes you can affect drives optimism and participation. Nine awkward phone calls and 14 unanswered emails help to build resilience, as do a couple of false starts before you see any breakthroughs. Add in five pivots, not enough hot chocolates, six ideas that didn’t quite land but were reworked and reworked again and fold that into their ATAR story, too.

By Terms 3 and 4, all the accumulated numbers are put into practice. A couple of late nights, one exhibition date, a nervous heart rate, 200 audience members and one student, relieved and looking to step into VCE with all this experience in their grab bag.

When they do, they arrive not simply hoping to perform, but knowing how to learn. They can organise themselves – not perfectly, they are still teens, still learning – but they are genuinely engaged with complexity, willing to stay with work that feels hard, unfamiliar or outside their interests. Academic results aren't sidelined by any of this. They're pushed by a far stronger foundation.

So, back to the question. How do we know how our kids are doing at school? It’s more than the marks. Education is there to help our kids move through their lives effectively, with greater confidence, more considered choices and with a clearer sense of themselves.

The score still exists; it's just part of a much bigger story.