Prep To Vce - Major Changes
The Age
Thursday June 30, 1994
Victoria's primary and secondary education systems will undergo a big shake-up in a move designed to remove problems from the four-year-old Victorian Certificate of Education and tighten central control over school curriculums.
The changes, announced yesterday, are in response to criticism levelled at the VCE of heavy workloads, allegations of cheating and claims of unfairness in some language testing.
At the same time, the statewide curriculum from prep to year 10, the final year before VCE, is to have a new structure which will tell schools what should be taught at each level, and what results are expected.
Parts of the shake-up, in particular a tougher assessment for VCE Chinese language students from Chinese backgrounds, was criticised by teachers and other education groups.
On the first anniversary of the Victorian Board of Studies, previously the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board, its chairman, Mr Howard Kelly, emphasised that the draft curriculum changes would be open to wide consultation with schools and teachers before a final document was drawn up in November.
Under the changes to the VCE, to come into effect next year, common assessment tasks, the school-based assignments and external testing that students must complete, will be reduced from four to three in all subjects. Some areas already have three assessment tasks.
The greater emphasis on external examinations comes after accusations that some students have received extra help at home or school on school-based projects.
In a move likely to dismay some educators, most of the new external exams will be at the end of the school year. An aim of the VCE when it was established was to get away from end of year exams as a way of testing a student's whole knowledge at year 12.
External assessment for 23 studies - the VCE's name for subjects - has been increased while only four have less external testing.
Some education groups criticised the move to target ethnic Chinese students studying Chinese to meet concerns expressed at the end of last year about some of the 38 languages other than English.
At one point, the Victorian vice-chancellors' committee decided that common assessment tasks (CATs) in eight languages would not be counted for tertiary selection in 1994 because of what were said to be exceedingly high proportions of A and A-plus grades. The decision was later withdrawn.
More intensive testing is expected to be extended to other languages.
The draft curriculum and standards framework, covering the preparatory year through to year 10, strengthens central control of the curriculum and outcomes expected from schools.
The curriculum draft is in line with a national curriculum profile produced last year, although Mr Kelly said his board felt the Victorian draft ``was an improvement".
Although he stressed that schools retained considerable autonomy in drawing up courses, the draft lays down very specifically its expectations for each stage of a student's development.
Mr Kelly said it would give parents, teachers and students a clear idea of what should be taught in Victorian schools.
The Board of Studies anticipates that Roman Catholic and independent schools will adopt the final curriculum framework.
The board has also re-accredited the 42 studies for periods of from five years to one year.
Mr Kelly said all issues in relation to the VCE had been settled by the re-accreditation process.
``We can now say with confidence that (the VCE) is stable (and) accepted. I believe one can say quite clearly say that this certificate has arrived and has matured into the form that it needs to be in."
The Minister for Education, Mr Hayward, ruled out providing additional money to implement the curriculum framework, saying there were sufficient funds in the existing Budget.
Year 11 students began studying for the two-year VCE in 1991, with both year 11 and year 12 students enrolled for the first time from February 1992.
THE NEW VCE: More emphasis on external exams to try to stop cheating. Most exams to be at end of the school year but school-based assessment remains important.
External assessment will be more important, counting for at least 30 per cent of a subject's marks.
CATs, or common assessment tasks, cut from four to three in all subjects.
Students to be given a numerical mark, as well as a letter grade, beginning this year.
Two subjects - geology and commerce in society - dropped because of lack of interest. The VCE now has 42 subjects, plus 38 languages other than English.
Chinese language students using Chinese regularly at home to face tougher testing. This is likely to be extended later to other language areas.
THE NEW CURRICULUM: More central control of the curriculum for students from prep to Year 10 to reduce differences between what schools teach.
Schools given clear guidelines on what is expected from students at each level.
© 1994 The Age