A DISMAL high school performance is no barrier to studying teaching, with universities enrolling students into education degrees with an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank as low as 18.

Admissions data obtained by Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham shows Victoria University’s education degree intake this year included three students with ATARs of 17.9, 19.8 and 21.3.

The University of Wollongong, Federation University of Australia, RMIT University and University of Southern Queensland all accepted at least three students with ATARs below 38.

In Perth, Edith Cowan University enrolled three students with ATARs of 43, 48.9 and 50 — placing them all in the bottom half of high school performers for their respective year groups.

Conversely, the lowest ATAR accepted this year into UWA — where students are required to complete any bachelor degree before they can apply for the two-year masters program — was 88.7.

The figures have been released as Senator Birmingham pushes universities to adopt common admissions terminology and definitions and redefine minimum ATAR-related thresholds.

“ATARs are not the be all and end all, but this data sets off alarm bells,” Senator Birmingham said. “Australians rightly expect that school students are being taught by the best and highest-skilled teachers. That’s why we introduced our literacy and numeracy test for new teachers and why we’re making university admissions processes more transparent and easier for students to compare.”

An Edith Cowan University spokesman said where admissions were based solely on ATAR, ECU enforced a minimum ranking of 70.

“However, ECU has other entry pathways that allow consideration of applicants beyond just ATAR,” he said.

“For example, prior study in higher education, vocational education and training (VET) study, and experienced-based entry that takes into account additional qualifications, skills or experience an applicant has gained.

“These students may have once received an ATAR lower than 70, but it is not the basis upon which they were admitted to university.”

Universities Australia’s chief executive Catriona Jackson said just 2 per cent of teaching students have an ATAR below 50.

“Let’s get some perspective,” she said.

“Just looking at the statistics alone, the number entering university with a low ATAR is tiny — making these lower scores extreme outliers.”

A UWA spokesman said the university aimed to raise the aspirations of students and encourage them to choose the course option that best suited them.