“I am pleased to see the proportion of boys getting ATARs above 70. That’s a good news story about boys,” he said.
Yager said in the 1990s, schools were concerned that girls were not performing as they should, but in recent decades, that had changed as schools moved to arrest a decline in boys’ achievement.
Nagy noted early unconditional offers from universities to HSC students may have had a disincentivising effect on some students, especially those with a personality profile motivated by extrinsic factors like course entry.
“Whether there are more (high-achieving) girls in these profiles than boys is an open question, but this could be a contributing factor,” he said.
Marist College Parramatta principal Mark Pauschmann, whose school had 39 boys receive an ATAR above 90 last year, said teachers focused on building reading and writing skills from year 7. They have 100-minute lessons, but the first 10 minutes of every class is spent reading.
“We look at their writing. It is looking at their writing, and at ways they can improve, and what skills they need. The only way to improve is that they do more and more reading,” he said.
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“Reading is a very critical part of what we do. It is meant to just expose them to a whole variety of narratives and writing.”
Marist College student Jean-Paul Boutros, 18, said he aimed to get an ATAR above 90 and was contemplating studying engineering or actuarial studies.
“I definitely think reading has allowed me to communicate ideas more and reading helps writing,” he said.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Joseph Baini was considering studying medicine. For the HSC, he is studying advanced and extension mathematics, advanced and extension English, religion, chemistry and biology.“I think a big thing is managing all these different subjects,” he said.
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More boys are getting top ATARs. Here’s how they’re doing it
