Queensland Certificate of Education
In recent years the Queensland Government has enacted a range of initiatives in the area of senior schooling under the Education and Training Reform for the Future (ETRF) agenda. The most visible of these has been the creation of the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE).
Under the ETRF legislation, it is compulsory for students to stay at school until they finish Year 10 or have turned 16, whichever comes first. The ETRF legislation then requires that students must participate in education and training for:
- a further two years; or
- until they have gained a Senior Statement; or
- until they have gained a Certificate III vocational qualification; or
- until they have turned 17.
This new certificate reflects the belief that senior schooling has become more complex in recent years with many pathways emerging for students to undertake. This reflects the appearance of a similar large number of pathways for students after they graduate from Year 12 and essentially reflects the increasing complexity of work in the 21st century.
The Queensland Certificate of Education is based upon a young person achieving a significant amount of learning (including literacy and numeracy) to an agreed standard. At the end of Year 12, all Year 12 students will be issued with a Senior Statement from the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) recording all learning achievements which have been banked in their Learning Account. However, only students who have met the standards of achievement and criteria of the Queensland Certificate of Education will receive the Queensland Certificate of Education. Having a set amount of learning and a set standard lets students know what they have to aspire to and it lets the community know what is expected to attain the Queensland Certificate of Education. The Queensland Certificate of Education sends a clear message that it represents successful achievements in a significant amount of learning and so provides students with a more valued passport to further education, training and employment.
A Broad Range of Learning
The Queensland Certificate of Education complements other education and training reforms. Learning achievements that count towards the certificate are from vocational education and training, university, workplaces and the community. At Wynnum High there are multiple pathways to meet the diverse needs of all of our students.
The Quality Criteria
The quality criteria ensures that learning achievements from courses contributing to the Queensland Certificate of Education are of sufficient size, standing and depth, and facilitate a transition from school to the next phase of learning and training.
Credit
Once a course of study has met the Quality Criteria, its contribution to the Queensland Certificate of Education is described as a credit. A credit describes the basic unit of learning and denotes the minimum amount of learning that can contribute to the certificate. The concept of credit allows the total amount of learning required to be specified – that is, at least twenty credits. This reflects an amount of learning that could be reasonably achieved by most young people over a two-year, full-time program of study in the Senior Phase of Learning.
In the main, the Queensland Certificate of Education acknowledges successfully completed Core courses of study that demonstrate a depth of learning. These courses are available to most young people and are undertaken over two years. Each core course contributes four credits and at least twelve credits must come from core courses of study.
Preparatory courses of study contribute to the Queensland Certificate of Education as stepping stones to further education or training in the Senior Phase. Each preparatory course contributes two credits, and up to four credits from preparatory can be included.
Enrichment and advanced courses of study add value or complement the core of learning young people do at school; but not all young people have an opportunity to do these courses. Therefore, these courses can contribute up to eight credits and add to the breadth of learning recognized by the Queensland Certificate of Education.
Allowing a range of learning to contribute to the Queensland Certificate of Education sends a clear message that the Senior Phase of Learning is about diverse educational and training pathways. Recognising the range of learning on the Queensland Certificate of Education demonstrates that the different education and training sectors can intersect in an open, integrated and relevant way to meet the rapidly changing needs and priorities for knowledge and skills development.
A Set Standard
The Queensland Certificate of Education is clearly about successful learning. It is a qualification towards which young people can aspire. Therefore, as well as achieving an amount of learning, there is also a requirement that the learning is at a set standard. The Quality Criteria require that learning that contributes to the Queensland Certificate of Education must have explicit statements about what it means to successfully complete the course of study. Only learning achievements that meet the requirements in the syllabus, training package, course, plan or project will be eligible for credit towards the Queensland Certificate of Education.
The set standard is described differently in different courses of study. In Vocational Education Training (VET) it is ‘competence’, and in other courses it is at least a ‘pass’ or at least a 4 on a 7-point scale. Authority and Authority-registered subjects are assessed against five levels of achievement from Very High Achievement to Very Limited Achievement.
The set standard also requires young people to demonstrate achievement in literacy and numeracy. There is a clear expectation that at the end of 12 years of schooling, young people should be literate and numerate.
This table is reprinted from the Queensland Studies Authority and is a visual representation of the Queensland Certificate of Education.
The Queensland Studies Authority website can provide further information on the Queensland Certificate of Education.
Multiple Pathways for Queensland Certificate of Education
Wynnum High School has developed multiple pathways for students to take through the senior school. There is an academic pathway which culminates in the awarding of an Overall Position for tertiary entrance, a vocational education or VET pathway which may or may not involve a school based apprenticeship or traineeship (SAT) or students may choose to study a combination of both academic and VET subjects. Given the context of the looming national skills shortage, many students may wish pursue a VET pathway combined with a SAT.
Tertiary Entrance and Overall Position requirements
An OP is, in simple terms, a rank order of all Queensland Year 12 students in the state for entry to tertiary institutions. There are 25 Overall Positions from OP1, the highest performance, to OP25, the lowest performance. Field Positions (FPs) are also a rank order indicating the student’s position based on Overall Achievement in Senior Authority subjects in up to five fields. Field positions are reported in bands from 1 (highest) to 10 (lowest) for each field position. Field positions may be used in assigning tertiary placements. An OP however, is the first requirement for tertiary placement.
To receive an OP, the basic eligibility requirement is 20 semester units of credit in Senior Authority subjects with at least three subjects studied continuously for four semesters. Each completed semester of a subject gives a student one unit of credit. Studying a subject for the four semesters of the senior school gives a student 4 units of credit. Studying six subjects for the four semesters of the senior school gives a student 24 units of credit. The Overall Position will be based on the student’s best 20 units.
The other requirement for an OP is sitting for the Queensland Core Skills Test (QCS). All Queensland Year 12 students who are eligible for an OP must sit this test.
