Controversial SACE research project to stay in curriculum despite criticism

STUDENTS must continue to study the controversial research project despite many submissions asking for it to be dumped, Education Minister Grace Portolesi says.

STUDENTS must continue to study the controversial research project despite many submissions to a review asking for it to be dumped, made optional or strictly a Year 11 subject, Education Minister Grace Portolesi says.

Responding to the SACE first year evaluation, the State Government says it will now encourage students to study five full subjects in Year 12.

But it is not willing to enforce the move, instead leaving it up to the state's universities to boost entry requirements.

Ms Portolesi yesterday said the Government would also provide more support for teaching and marking, more practical research project options and an optional preparatory research skills subject in Year 11.

There will be no changes for students introduced next year. Revised research project options and the research skills subject will be introduced in 2014.

"We are strengthening the research project and we are backing the SACE," Ms Portolesi said.

She revealed plans to provide students with an incentive to study a fifth Year 12 subject and had written to each of SA's three universities asking them to consider calculating the university entry score using a 90-point system rather than the current 80 points.

Under the current system, the score is based on students' results in four subjects because each subject is worth 20 points. Moving to a 90-point system would allow the fifth subject to also be counted.

"The decision to have a 90-point aggregate is up to universities and I am asking them to consider this in time for students studying for their SACE in 2015," Ms Portolesi said.

"This means students could study five full-year subjects in their final year and have each of them count towards their ATAR (university entrance score).

An Institute of Educational Assessors would also be established to assist teachers and the SACE Board would receive an extra $7.6 million investment over the next five years.

The independent evaluation of the first year of the new SACE found the research project provides an "inherent advantage" for female students and recommended an easier version be available to Year 11 students who wanted to do five subjects in Year 12.

The government did not support this recommendation and instead would continue to allow schools to offer the research project designed for Year 12s in Year 11.

Each of SA's three universities said they were willing to look at Ms Portolesi's request to change the entry requirements.

Australian Education Union SA branch president Correna Haythorpe said teachers wanted to see more flexibility and thought the research project should not be compulsory.

"I believe members would continue to hold the view that students should be able to decide whether to engage in the research project or not," she said.

Association of Independent Schools of SA chief executive Garry Le Duff said there were very diverse views about the SACE among private schools but some leaders were critical of the research project.

"Our submission to the review wanted students who want to study five subjects be given recognition so the government's response has gone some way to meeting that request," he said.

"(It) is a step in the right direction and we will continue to monitor the SACE and its development."

St Peter's Girls principal Fiona Godfrey said she applauded the consideration given to all the major issues but was concerned the changes did not go far enough.

"In terms of the research project I still firmly believe it shouldn't be a compulsory element of Stage 2 (Year 12) and should be a Stage 1 (Year 11) subject or an elective in Stage 2," she said.

"Changes to university entrance doesn't force students to study five subjects and most will just continue to study four subjects and the compulsory research project.

"The real issues not addressed at all are the falling number of students studying languages other than English and humanities."

SA Secondary Principals Association president Jan Paterson said she welcomed the decision because it would enhance schools' capacity to deliver a high school certificate that was valuable to all students.

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said the new SACE was a "failed experiment".

"I understand some people were doing planning their wedding or building a dog kennel and all sorts of things (for the Research Project). Those things should be extra curricular, not part of a serious qualification," she said.

"Having only four subjects was not good. I believe that we need to have a bigger focus on English as a language being taught. I don't believe that we do that well enough."