Senior secondary students are preparing for major changes to their education as schools switch to online teaching platforms this term amid state-wide coronavirus precautions.
Victorian Certificate of Education students will still receive an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank score, but there will be several changes to the academic timetable including rescheduled tests, exams and assessments.
The General Achievement Test will move from June to October or November, and end-of-year exams will be postponed until at least December.
School-based assessment tasks will be reduced where possible to relieve some pressure on students as they move to remote and flexible learning arrangements.
Universities will be asked to delay the start of the 2021 university year to account for impacts of coronavirus on senior secondary students.
VCE study scores will continue to be a combination of school-based assessment and external exams. Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning students will have more time to complete their courses and this will be consistent with the revised dates for the VCE.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority is also examining a compressed end-of-year exam schedule – including slightly shortening each exam – in recognition of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
A small number of students undertaking Vocational Education and Training may have the award of their VCE or VCAL delayed until the beginning of 2021 so they can complete mandatory practical or workplace learning requirements.
On-site learning will only be available for children whose parents can’t work from home and vulnerable students without access to a suitable learning environment at home.
Small groups of VCE and VCAL students can also attend on-site for short periods if their learning requirements cannot be conducted at home. Physical distancing provisions will be made.
These new arrangements will remain in place for the duration of term two and will then be reviewed.
