OP assessment enters final term before ATAR takes over in 2020

As term 4 kicks off tomorrow, Year 12 students across the state are busy preparing for their last batch of assessments before the anxious wait for their final results. But in 2020, the final school term will look very different. SEE THE KEY CHANGES.

AS TERM 4 kicks off tomorrow, Year 12 students across the state are busy preparing for their last batch of assessments before the anxious wait for their final results.

But in 2020, the final school term will look very different, with the new Queensland ­Certificate of Education system in full swing.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE DETAILS OF THE KEY CHANGES

The transition will mean students will no longer receive an Overall Position (OP), but an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), putting the Sunshine State in line with the rest of the country.

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It will also see the reintroduction of external exams, something Queensland hasn’t had since the early-1970s.

The first batch of Year 12s to undertake the new system has also been the “guinea pigs” for other changes, with the cohort the first to start compulsory prep and the first Year 7s to move across to high school.

University of Southern Queensland senior education lecturer Stewart Riddle said there would be some anxious families hoping their kids would not be left disadvantaged by the new system, with “substantial” changes to key parts of the senior curriculum.

File photo of Brisbane Grammar School Year 12 students Tim Weber, James Kenny, Nick Miller, Ryan Ah Yek 17 and Noah Rosemann. Picture: Jamie Hanson

In English, students will move from completing six school-based assessment tasks to three, meaning the stakes will be much higher.

“The previous system basically averaged out your grades across the tasks, whereas this new system adds each score together,” Dr Riddle said.

“If you bomb out in one task, you can’t make up for it in the next because you’ve already set that mark in place.”

Education Minister Grace Grace has previously said ATAR will “ensure results are as inclusive and fair for students as possible”, with the rankings generated directly from a student’s subject results.

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In maths and science ­subjects, external exams will contribute 50 per cent to the final result, with the external exam period to run for about four weeks during the final school term.

“Some folks think that this makes the new system stricter and less fair, whereas others think that it is a more accurate reflection of performance,” Dr Riddle said. “We won’t know the effects of the new system until it is fully implemented.”

THE KEY CHANGES

TERTIARY ENTRY

2019: Eligible students receive a tertiary entrance statement with an Overall Position (OP) from 1-25, and Field Positions.

2020: The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will replace the OP. ATAR is a number between 0.00 and 99.95, and increases in increments of 0.05.

The ATAR will be calculated from a student’s best five subject results by the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC). Students must complete an English subject satisfactorily (C or better) to be ATAR-eligible, but the result will only contribute to ATAR if in best five results.

RESULTS

2019: Subject results based on internal assessments (typically 5-7).

2020: General subjects based on three internal assessments and one external assessment. Applied subjects based on four internal assessments. External assessments to be completed statewide at the same time.

QLD CORE SKILLS TEST (QCS)

2019: OP-eligible students sat the final QCS Test in September. Group results help calculate OPs.

2020: The QCS will no longer exist.

QLD CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION

2019: All students receive a senior statement with their results, while eligible students also receive a QCE. Students are awarded a level of achievement from Very High Achievement (VHA) to Very Limited Achievement (VLA).

2020: All students receive a senior statement with their results, while eligible students also receive a QCE. Students awarded an overall numerical score and an A-E for each general subject.

Source: Qld Curriculum and Assessment Authority