Standardised testing and rankings dominate school systems, but improving student wellbeing and engagement requires deeper integration between education and health support.

Australia’s schools are still too often measured by ATAR scores, NAPLAN results and exam rankings.

But those numbers tell only part of the story.

Increasingly, young people leave school anxious, disengaged and unsure of their strengths, even when they are capable, creative and highly intelligent. The issue is not simply academic performance. It is relevance and purpose.

Students are quietly asking: “Why am I learning this?” They are trying to imagine their place in a future shaped by artificial intelligence, portfolio careers, remote work and constant reskilling.

For decades, the social contract was simple – study hard, get a degree, secure a career. That contract has fractured. Yet our education system remains focused on ranking, standardisation and high-stakes exams.

Research from the Grattan Institute shows around 40 per cent of students are regularly disengaged in class. They are not disruptive; they are simply switched off. Poor exam results are often a symptom of that disengagement. But teachers, already stretched, do not have the specialist support or structural flexibility to address its underlying causes.

High stakes testing and rigid streaming can sideline curiosity and wellbeing, putting some of our most promising young minds at risk. At the same time, access to integrated health support........

© Pearls and Irritations