Do High School Exam Results Really Matter on 3AW 693AM Radio Melbourne with Tom Elliott
Topic: Do High School Exam Results Really Matter?
Date: 21 October
Media Outlet: 3AW 693AM Melbourne https://www.3aw.com.au
Broadcaster / Interviewer: Tom Elliott
Producer: Jess Simmons
Duration Total: 00:04:39
Time of show: 10:39am
Audio Recording: https://omny.fm/shows/3aw-mornings/do-high-school-exams-results-really-matter
Video Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4fjaomxT9s
Transcript
At VCE Results, years ago I spoke at a prominent private school, it was Hailebury, it was about 10 years ago, it’s their year 11 and 12 classes, and I was asked a question by one young man, he said, how much do our VCE marks matter, this exact question, and I said, look, they matter to you now, and you know, if you’ve got your heart set on doing a certain course at university or whatever, and you need a certain score to get in, that will matter, but I said, to be honest, in later life it won’t matter at all, you’ll forget about it, and after I’d madle these remarks, and I was saying goodbye to people,
one of the teachers came up to me and said, oh, I enjoyed your talk, but that bit about the marks not mattering is not exactly the message we want to sell to the parents who are paying the school fees.
Our next guest, Career Expert and Author, Sue Ellson.
Good morning. Hello, Sue.
I’m here.
Yes, go ahead. Okay, so as I said, I gave this talk at Hailebury. About 10 years ago, and I said in the long run, your marks don’t matter, and one of the teachers said we’d rather you didn’t say things like that, but I mean, you know, is it right that people panic about their VCE results?
Well, I wouldn’t suggest they do. I mean, the real goal is really to aim to pass, particularly if you’re at one of those private schools and you’re aiming to get into a particular course and it requires a particular grade, but you know, there’s a recent Finder research report that says, you know, 58% of Australians don’t believe that their VCE results had an impact on their eventual salary even. So, yeah, I think the main goal is pass, and obviously
those schools want to get the high achievement rates.
The average VCE completion rate is around 96.5% at the end of last year, but in some areas, that rate for the school can be as low as 25%, but I’m quite sure that those people don’t remain unemployed for the rest of their life either I suppose the thing is, though, you know, you really want to do a hard-to-get-into degree like law or, I don’t know, commerce or something like that.
I mean, clearly there are cut-off marks, and if you don’t make the mark, you don’t get into that course, do you?
No, but there are other ways to get in. So, sometimes people will say, look, I’ll do two or three subjects in a sort of similar or possible recognised
prior learning course, and then they can bump themselves along at a later point. And I know of one person who started studying a particular course, didn’t like it after three subjects, changed universities and did something, you know, different somewhere else. So, there’s always these options available to people.
Well, it’s interesting. I’ve got a friend, same age as me, within a few months, we’re still good friends and from school, and he is a very successful barrister now, but he didn’t get into law when he did his, well, it was HSC back then.
So, he did, I think, arts or something for a year. And he worked hard, and then he was able to transfer, and now he’s had a successful legal career.
So, there are other pathways.
There definitely are, and also, I think it’s because if they demonstrate their capacity to learn and their commitment, universities recognise that,
and they’re willing to consider those types of applicants.
Yeah. I mean, because I think at the time, it is important to do your best in something. I mean, it’s like playing sport or whatever. You want to do everything you can to win, within the rules, of course. But, I don’t know, just trying to make people realise that down the track, it will be okay if you don’t go quite as well as what you might have hoped.
It absolutely will. And I think the other thing that we need to remember is we don’t finish learning at the end of Year 12. We’ve got to keep learning.
And there’s a really interesting report that’s been put out by the University of Sydney called the Skills Horizon Report. It’s one of the best academic
presentations I’ve ever seen, and it really goes into all the types of skills that we’re going to and one of those is, obviously, the capacity to keep learning.
And yesterday, Jobs and Skills Australia launched the Jobs and Skills Month with the theme Pathways to Success. So, there’s a whole bunch of resources available for people who are looking at different pathways to success, including in regional areas. So, there’s a lot of initiatives out there. It’s really giving people that chance to pick something up.
And I always say it’s never too late.
All right.
Yeah.
Yeah. No, well, that’s right. All right. Thank you, Sue.
Sue Ellson there, Career Expert and Author.
And I want to reassure any VCE students listening, it will be okay.
Social Share
EXAM RESULTS // Do High School exam results really matter? 🤔 In this interview with Tom Elliott on Tapt Media‘s 3AW Radio Melbourne Mornings Program today, we discussed:
✅ Finder research report that says 58% of Australians don’t believe that their exam results had an impact on their eventual salary
✅ Average VCE completion rate is around 96.5% but can be as low as 25% in some schools in Victoria
✅ Starting in one university course and transferring to another course later on with recognised prior learning
✅ The importance of continuing to learn throughout your career
✅ University of Sydney Skills Horizon Report
✅ Jobs and Skills Australia – Jobs and Skills Month with the theme Pathways to Success with various resources including some for people in regional areas
Thanks to Producer Jess Simmons for the invitation to contribute!
➡️ What advice would you give to people preparing for end of year exams?
#exams #3awMelbourne #TomElliott #SueEllson
Further information
Finder.com.au – High School Results and salary: Does a high ATAR make a difference to how much you earn?
694 Australians in the workforce (employed, unemployed and seeking work) in September 2026
58% of Australians with a $150K+ salary do not credit their high school results for their salary
Australians who say their results boosted their pay have a median personal income of $90-$99K
More men than women believe their high school results have led to them earning more
63% of Australians believe high school results have little bearing on how much they earn today
11% believe their high school results had a negative impact on their salary
16% believe their high school results equated to higher earningxs
Those who say their results have led to having a higher salary have a higher median personal income of $90-$99K
Those who say their results held them back have a lower median personal income of $50-$59K
58% of top earners with a personal income $150K plus do not credit their school results for their salary
More men 18% than women 13% believe their high school results have led them to earning more when they left school
May need formal qualifications for some careers, but experience, practical skills and the ability to keep learning are just as important as you progress
Good to be able to manage your money, pay down debt and put savings to work – what you make and what you keep
Review everyday expenses and compare financial products
Senior secondary completion and achievement information
The Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement Information (SSCAI) provides data on school programs, student cohorts and student achievements of schools delivering the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) the VCE Vocational Major (VM) and the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC). Student VCE Completion Rate in 2025 average of 96.5% but at some community schools, as low as 25%
https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/school-administration/performance-senior-secondary/senior-secondary-completion-and-achievement-information and https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/sites/default/files/2025-12/2025-SeniorSecondaryCompletionandAchievementInformation.xlsx
Senior Secondary Certificate Statistical Information 2025 – Section 1
https://vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/school-administration/performance-senior-secondary/senior-secondary-certificate-statistical-information-2025-section-1 VCE Completion Rate in 2021 98.1% and in 2025 97.4%
Jobs & Skills Month – 20 October to 20 November 2026 – Theme Pathways to Success
Jobs & Skills Month is a collaborative, not-for-profit initiative led by Jobs and Skills Australia, in partnership with stakeholders across the jobs and skills system. The month will highlight the important role the jobs and skills system plays in supporting individuals, communities, industries and Australia’s economy. Jobs & Skills Month will feature events, announcements, discussions and initiatives exploring workforce challenges, career pathways, skills development and the future of work in Australia.
https://www.jobsandskillsmonth.gov.au
The 2027 Skills Horizon Report – University of Sydney
https://plus.sydney.edu.au/horizon and download at https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/35645/2027-skills-horizon.pdf
Starting a New Job – free online course
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/online-learning-centre/starting-a-new-job
Practical Suggestions
Throughout your career:
- keep networking
- demonstrate your capabilities
- ask for opportunities
- ask for a pay rise (with evidence) at every performance review
- remember you need to continually learn new skills
- for all educational training, remember the goal is to ‘pass’ not necessarily get a high distinction
- seek career help from your school, university or a career specialist
- be prepared to change and grow over time – be your own advocate
- manage your money and focus on ‘wealth’ and assets that produce income
- save first, spend second
- if exams are ‘too much’ look for learner competency credentials as an alternative
Prepared with
The help of https://www.recall.it/youtube-video-summarizer to summarise the video and prepare the transcript
The help of https://gotranscript.com/subtitle-converter to convert the YouTube captions SBV file to an SRT file
Recordings
Full Segment
https://omny.fm/shows/3aw-mornings/do-high-school-exams-results-really-matter
Apple Segment
https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/do-high-school-exams-results-really-matter/id291212440?i=1000797359246
Podcast Segment
https://podcastaddict.com/3aw-mornings-with-tom-elliott/episode/244103355
Spotify Segment
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NYtrr18W7EiwZzFFa1rmr
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