Overall Position

The Overall Position (OP) is a tertiary entrance rank used in the Australian state of Queensland for selection into universities. Like similar systems used throughout the rest of Australia, the OP shows how well a student has performed in their senior secondary studies compared to all other OP-eligible students in Queensland. The system was introduced in 1992.

The OP is calculated and used similarly to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in other states. Instead of being a percentile rank (0.00 - 99.95), however, the OP is a number from 1 to 25, where 1 is the highest and 25 is the lowest. This range of possible results is bell curved so the percentage of students receiving the very highest and very lowest results is much less common than those receiving mid-range OPs. In 2012, 724 students received the highest rank, OP1, according to Minister for Education, Training and Employment John-Paul Langbroek. 55.6% of Queensland high school students were able to obtain an OP in 2012.