A BRIEF HISTORY OF TERTIARY ENTRANCE I N QUEENSLAND SINCE THE ABOLITION OF THE EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS
Eddie C l a r k e INTRODUCTION OF THE RADFORD SCHEME
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I n t h e m i d 1960s, t h e e x t e r n a l S e n i o r P u b l i c E x a m i n a t i o n , w h i c h was used t o s e l e c t s t u d e n t s f o r t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n , c r e a t e d c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n Government and non-government e d u c a t i o n a l systems b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e s y s t e m d i d not c a t e r a d e q u a t e l y f o r t h e e d u c a t i o n a l needs o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f Grade 12 s t u d e n t s who d i d n o t w i s h t o e n t e r a t e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t e , and s t u d e n t s and t h e i r p a r e n t s were dismayed a t t h e h i g h f a i l u r e r a t e i n some s u b j e c t s
I n 1969 t h e Board o f S e n i o r Secondary S c h o o l S t u d i e s , w h i c h was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e S e n i o r P u b l i c E x a m i n a t i o n , r e q u e s t e d t h e M i n i s t e r f o r E d u c a t i o n , S i r A l a n F l e t c h e r , t o s e t up a committee t o r e v i e w t h e system o f secondary p u b l i c e x a m i n a t i o n s and make recommendations f o r t h e assessment o f s t u d e n t s ' a c h i e v e m e n t s
The recommendations o f t h i s c o m m i t t e e appeared i n The R a d f o r d R e p o r t i n 1970 The m a j o r changes proposed were
A s i n g l e Board o f Secondary School S t u d i e s s h o u l d r e p l a c e t h e e x i s t i n g Board o f J u n i o r Secondary School S t u d i e s and t h e Board o f S e n i o r Secondary School S t u d i e s
The J u n i o r and S e n i o r P u b l i c e x t e r n a l e x a m i n a t i o n s s h o u l d be r e p l a c e d by a system o f s c h o o l - b a s e d assessment, w i t h c o n t i n u o u s assessment t h r o u g h o u t the y e a r
- To e n s u r e t h a t g r a d i n g s awarded w i t h i n a s c h o o l were comparable t o g r a d i n g s awarded i n o t h e r s c h o o l s , a system o f m o d e r a t i o n s h o u l d be e s t a b l i s h e d I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e g r a d e s awarded f o r s u b j e c t s s t u d i e d , each s e n i o r s t u d e n t s h o u l d be p l a c e d on an o r d e r o f m e r i t l i s t The R a d f o r d Committee saw t h i s as an i m p o r t a n t means o f s e l e c t i n g s t u d e n t s f o r e n t r y t o t e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s P o s i t i o n on t h e o r d e r o f m e r i t l i s t was t o be based o n t h e s t u d e n t ' s s c h o o l assessment s c a l e d by r e f e r e n c e t o t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e s c h o o l i n a S t a t e w i d e s p e c i a l e x a m i n a t i o n , such as S c h o l a s t i c A p t i t u d e T e s t s
S i r A l a n F l e t c h e r p u b l i c i s e d t h e R e p o r t w i d e l y , and t h e r e s p o n s e was v a r i e d The t w o Boards g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d t h e R e p o r t as d i d t h e p r i n c i p a l s o f government and non-government secondary s c h o o l s and t h e Queensland T e a c h e r s U n i o n , w h i c h , t h r o u g h i t s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e on t h e R a d f o r d Committee, had made a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e r e p o r t The V i c e - c h a n c e l l o r o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Queensland, Zelman Cowan, was guarded i n h i s comments, t h e p u b l i c r e s p o n s e as i n d i c a t e d i n t h e p r e s s was m i x e d , and r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f b u s i n e s s o r g a n i s a t i o n s were i n c l i n e d t o f a v o u r t h e r e t e n t i o n o f e x t e r n a l e x a m i n a t i o n s
I n December 1970, t h e E d u c a t i o n A c t Amendment A c t o f 1970 No 2 i m p l e m e n t e d t h e R a d f o r d R e p o r t recommendations, w h i c h became known as t h e R a d f o r d Scheme, and gave r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r making t h e changes t o t h e Board o f Secondary S c h o o l S t u d i e s (BSSS) w h i c h r e p l a c e d t h e p r e v i o u s t w o Boards
THE SYSTEM OF TERTIARY ENTRANCE IN OPERATION AFTER THE RADFORD REPORT Phasing out o f t h e E x t e r n a l Examination
The e x t e r n a l S e n i o r P u b l i c E x a m i n a t i o n f o r f u l l t i m e s e c o n d a r y s t u d e n t s was phased o u t , t h e l a s t one b e i n g h e l d i n 1972 From 1973, BSSS r e s t r i c t e d access t o t h i s e x a m i n a t i o n so t h a t s i n c e t h e n most c a n d i d a t e s f o r i t have been m a i n l y mature age s t u d e n t s S c h o o l based assessment was a p p l i e d t o a l l secondary school s t u d e n t s i n c l u d i n g i n 1972 t h e Year 1 1 w h i c h w o u l d c o m p l e t e S e n i o r s t u d i e s i n 1973 as Year 12 s t u d e n t s
D u r i n g a b r i e f i n t e r i m p e r i o d t e r t i a r y e n t r y was based on a s t u d e n t ' s aggregate s c o r e s o f s u b j e c t s o v e r f o u r s e m e s t e r s By 1975 a l l t e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s were making use o f a new BSSS O r d e r o f M e r i t System ( t h e TE Score System) based on t h e r e s u l t s o f s c h o o l based assessment and t h e A u s t r a l i a n S c h o l a s t i c A p t i t u d e T e s t (ASAT)
Operation o f School Based Assessment
W i t h i n each s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l a s c h o o l m o d e r a t o r o f each s u b j e c t area s u p e r v i s e d c o n t i n u o u s assessment p r o c e d u r e s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t t e a c h e r s i n t h a t area A s u b j e c t assessment mark awarded t o a s t u d e n t was on a 1-100 s c a l e and was c o m p i l e d f r o m t h e r e s u l t s o f a s t u d e n t ' s p e r f o r m a n c e i n c a r r y i n g o u t assignments and i n t e r n a l e x a m i n a t i o n s i n each semester These r e s u l t s were f i n a l l y p r e s e n t e d as a mark on a seven p o i n t s c a l e Where p o s s i b l e , r e s u l t s were e x p e c t e d t o c o n f o r m t o a n o r m a l d i s t r i b u t i o n c u r v e
A t a D i s t r i c t M o d e r a t i o n m e e t i n g h e l d f o r each s u b j e c t a r e a , t h e s c h o o l s u b j e c t - a r e a m o d e r a t o r s and t h e D i s t r i c t M o d e r a t o r endeavoured t o a c h i e v e consensus among s c h o o l s on assessments o f s t u d e n t s D u r i n g t h e m e e t i n g , each school's work program and assessment p r o c e d u r e s were d i s c u s s e d , t h e g r a d e d work samples o f t h e s t u d e n t s were examined, and recommendations were made on w h e t h e r the proposed s t u d e n t r a t i n g s be a p p r o v e d o r m o d i f i e d
A C h i e f M o d e r a t o r f o r each s u b j e c t area had t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f r e v i e w i n g the s t a n d a r d s o f t h e e d u c a t i o n a l d i s t r i c t s t h r o u g h m e e t i n g s w i t h d i s t r i c t moderators, and o f making p r o p o s a l s f o r t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f s e m e s t e r r a t i n g s These p r o p o s a l s were f o r w a r d e d t o t h e M o d e r a t i o n Committee o f t h e BSSS w h i c h s u p e r v i s e d t h e M o d e r a t i o n s y s t e m
F o l l o w i n g t h e p r o c e d u r e s o f m o d e r a t i o n , a Year 12 s t u d e n t was i s s u e d a Senior C e r t i f i c a t e R e s u l t s i n s u b j e c t s on t h e s e c e r t i f i c a t e s were on a seven p o i n t s c a l e
The A u s t r a l i a n S c h o l a s t i c A p t i t u d e T e s t (ASAT)
A f t e r 1973, e v e r y Year 12 s t u d e n t t h r o u g h o u t t h e S t a t e has been r e q u i r e d t o do ASAT, a t e s t d e v i s e d by t h e A u s t r a l i a n C o u n c i l o f E d u c a t i o n a l Research f o r t e r t i a r y s e l e c t i o n p u r p o s e s The q u e s t i o n s do n o t t e s t s c h o o l s u b j e c t s , and f a l l i n t o f o u r b r o a d a r e a s - h u m a n i t i e s , s o c i a l s c i e n c e s , m a t h e m a t i c s and s c i e n c e s
Compilation o f An Order o f M e r i t - The T e r t i a r y E n t r a n c e Score System
ASAT i s used t o s c a l e s c h o o l assessments f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f c a l c u l a t i n g the T E Score The s c a l i n g p r o c e d u r e s a r e d e s i g n e d t o a d j u s t s c h o o l assessments so t h a t b o t h t h e assessments made i n d i f f e r e n t s u b j e c t s ( w h i c h v a r y i n d i f f i c u l t y ) i n t h e same s c h o o l , and t h e assessments made i n d i f f e r e n t s c h o o l s ,
a r e comparable
A l l s t u d e n t s i n t h e S t a t e a r e t h e n p l a c e d i n o r d e r o f m e r i t , u s i n g t h e f i n a l a d j u s t e d t o t a l s The t o p one p e r c e n t g e t a T E Score o f 990, t h e n e x t h a l f p e r c e n t 985, and so on
REACTIONS TO THE RADFORD SCHEME
I n 1975, a j o i n t Department o f E d u c a t i o n and BSSS i n v e s t i g a t i o n was p r e s e n t e d i n a r e p o r t , Schools Under R a d f o r d T h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n showed t h a t w h i l e few t e a c h e r s wanted a r e t u r n t o t h e e x t e r n a l p u b l i c e x a m i n a t i o n s y s t e m , many f e l t t h a t m o d e r a t i o n d i d n o t a c h i e v e c o m p a r a b i l i t y , t h a t i t l e d t o an o v e r - emphasis on assessment, caused e x c e s s i v e t e s t i n g , c r e a t e d s t u d e n t s t r a i n and d i s a d v a n t a g e d s t u d e n t s i n s m a l l s c h o o l s The r e p o r t i n d i c a t e d t h a t s t u d e n t s a l s o b e l i e v e d t h a t m o d e r a t i o n d i d n o t a c h i e v e c o m p a r a b i l i t y I n t h e same y e a r , a n o t h e r s t u d y , The Campbell R e p o r t , s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e new f o r m o f assessment had been q u i t e s u c c e s s f u l i n many r e s p e c t s , b u t recommended a r e f o r m o f some m o d e r a t i o n p r o c e d u r e s
I n 1976 a U n i v e r s i t y o f Queensland s p e c i a l c o m m i t t e e d i d n o t f a v o u r t h e r e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f e x t e r n a l e x a m i n a t i o n s b u t i t was c r i t i c a l o f BSSS p r o c e d u r e s i n i t s TE Score system
The Teachers Union (QTU) s u p p o r t e d s c h o o l based assessment b u t c r i t i c i s e d some o f t h e m o d e r a t i o n p r o c e d u r e s , and t h e heavy c l e r i c a l b u r d e n w h i c h m o d e r a t i o n p l a c e d upon t e a c h e r s I n 1976, t h e BSSS t o o k a c t i o n t o r e v i e w m o d e r a t i o n procedures and t h i s caused t h e QTU t o d r o p a p l a n o f n o n - c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e BSSS A f t e r 1976 m o d e r a t i o n p r o c e d u r e s became l e s s o f an i s s u e w i t h t e a c h e r s
The QTU a l s o q u e s t i o n e d a p r o c e d u r e r e l a t e d t o t h e o r d e r o f m e r i t l i s t w h i c h i n v o l v e d an a g g r e g a t e o f t h e r e s u l t s o f f o u r s e m e s t e r s , a p r o c e d u r e w h i c h i t b e l i e v e d d i s a d v a n t a g e d some s t u d e n t s F u r t h e r m o r e t h e QTU b e l i e v e d t h a t no assessment scheme c o u l d produce a s i n g l e , u n i v e r s a l l y - u s e d f o r m o f r e p o r t o r c e r t i f i c a t e w h i c h c o u l d a d e q u a t e l y f u l f i l t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f s t u d e n t s , p a r e n t s , employers o r h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s
At t h e end o f 1974 t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Queensland, and s u b s e q u e n t l y o t h e r t e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s , i n t r o d u c e d q u o t a s t o a l l B a c h e l o r s c o u r s e s T h i s a l m o s t c o i n c i d e d w i t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e TE Score System, and i t was t h e TE Score System which was s i n g l e d o u t by some o f t h e p u b l i c as t h e o b s t a c l e t o t e r t i a r y e n t r a n c e
Press coverage o f t h e R a d f o r d Scheme was c o n s i s t e n t l y c r i t i c a l The C o u r i e r M a i l c o n s t a n t l y r e f e r r e d t o c o n f u s i o n a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e R a d f o r d P l a n A T e l e g r a p h s u r v e y r e v e a l e d t h a t many e m p l o y e r s d i d n o t make uBe f u l l u s e o f J u n i o r o r S e n i o r C e r t i f i c a t e s o r d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d them Such e m p l o y e r s r e l i e d on t h e s i n g l e TE Score as an i n d e x o f a b i l i t y
THE BOARD'S RESPONSES TO CRITICISM OF THE RADFORD SCHEME
The BSSS was n o t s u r p r i s e d t h a t t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a new system w o u l d have t e e t h i n g problems, b u t i t b e l i e v e d t h a t much p u b l i c c r i t i c i s m was based on m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g and l a c k o f i n f o r m a t i o n , and accused t h e p r e s s o f b i a s I t a l s o p o i n t e d o u t t h e p r o b l e m o f p r o v i d i n g an assessment o f s t u d e n t a c h i e v e m e n t and making use o f t h e s e assessments a l s o f o r t h e purpose o f t e r t i a r y e n t r a n c e
W h i l e t h e BSSS m a i n t a i n e d t h a t by 1976 i t had a l l e v i a t e d many o f t h e e x i s t i n g problems o f assessment, i n t h a t y e a r i t s e t up a s p e c i a l c o m m i t t e e t o c o n s i d e r f u r t h e r changes n e c e s s a r y i n r e s p o n s e t o Schools Under R a d f o r d and The Campbell R e p o r t The f i n a l r e p o r t o f t h i s S c o t t Committee, A Review o f S c h o o l - Based Assessment i n Queensland Secondary S c h o o l s (ROSBA) was p u b l i s h e d i n 1978
I n 1978 t h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y S e l e c t Committee on E d u c a t i o n s t u d i e d t h e p r o b l e m o f secondary s c h o o l assessment and a g r e e d i n p r i n c i p l e w i t h t h e m a j o r p o i n t s o f t h e S c o t t R e p o r t , and a t t h e end o f 1979 C a b i n e t approved o f t h e changes w h i c h were r e f e r r e d t o as ROSBA To e n s u r e a smooth t r a n s i t i o n , t h e BSSS phased ROSBA g r a d u a l l y i n t o secondary s c h o o l s i n t h r e e phases By 1985 ROSBA was i n o p e r a t i o n i n a l l secondary s c h o o l s
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ROSBA
ROSBA was n o t a new scheme, i t was a r e f o r m o f t h e e x i s t i n g R a d f o r d Scheme I t endeavoured t o d e a l w i t h t h e p r o b l e m s o f c o m p a r a b i l i t y , a c c o u n t a b i l i t y and maintenance o f s t a n d a r d s The e x i s t i n g norm-based system, w h i c h a s s e s s e d s t u d e n t s by a s s i g n i n g markB w h i c h showed how t h e y compared t o o t h e r s t u d e n t s , was r e p l a c e d by a competency-based system o f c o n t i n u a l assessment w h i c h a s s e s s e s s t u d e n t s on how w e l l t h e y have m a s t e r e d f o u r o b j e c t i v e s i n each s u b j e c t These o b j e c t i v e s a r e f a c t u a l knowledge, c o g n i t i v e s k i l l s , p r a c t i c a l s k i l l s , and a f f e c t i v e o b j e c t i v e s ( a t t i t u d e s , v a l u e s and f e e l i n g s ) The s t u d e n t s a r e assessed on t h e i r m a s t e r y o f t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s by t h e use o f t h e f o l l o w i n g competency c a t e g o r i e s Very High Achievement, H i g h Achievement, Sound Achievement, L i m i t e d Achievement, Very L i m i t e d Achievement I t was hoped t h a t t h i s f o r m o f assessment would encourage c o - o p e r a t i o n t o a c h i e v e a s t a t e d s e l f - d e t e r m i n e d g o a l i n p l a c e o f c o m p e t i t i o n f o r a p r e - d e t e r m i n e d l i m i t e d number o f p l a c i n g s I n t h e S e n i o r Secondary S c h o o l , t h e BSSS i s s u e s o n l y one assessment i n each s u b j e c t - an e x i t assessment w h i c h i n d i c a t e s t h e l e v e l o f achievement r e a c h e d a t t h e end o f t h e s t u d y i n t h e s u b j e c t
D i s t r i c t Review P a n e l s f o r each s u b j e c t a r e a a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r m o n i t o r i n g and r e v i e w i n g s c h o o l assessment t o e n s u r e t h e maintenance o f s t a n d a r d s and c o m p a r a b i l i t y between s c h o o l s i n each d i s t r i c t and S t a t e Review P a n e l s have t h e same r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e d i s t r i c t s M o n i t o r i n g i s m a i n l y o f an a d v i s o r y n a t u r e and i s c a r r i e d o u t a t t h e end o f Year 1 1 , w h i l e r e v i e w i n g i s c a r r i e d o u t a t t h e end o f Years 10 and 12 c o u l d r e q u i r e a s c h o o l t o make changes i n i t s judgments b e f o r e i t c o u l d r e c e i v e BSSS c e r t i f i c a t i o n R e s u l t s o f v a r i o u s t e s t s i n s c h o o l s a r e u s u a l l y g i v e n i n numbers b e f o r e t h e y a r e t r a n s l a t e d t o l e v e l s o f achievement
Once more, t e a c h e r s had d i f f i c u l t y i n i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e changes, t h e i r m a j o r problem b e i n g t h e i n c r e a s e d c l e r i c a l work i n v o l v e d A b r i e f QTU work ban a t t h e n end o f 1982 was ended when t h e Department o f E d u c a t i o n p r o v i d i n g an i n c r e a s e i n t h e number o f r e l i e f t e a c h e r s
The r e s u l t s o f a Department o f E d u c a t i o n i n t e r v i e w s t u d y w h i c h appeared e a r l y i n 1990 showed t h a t most t e a c h e r s s u p p o r t e d school-based a s s e s s m e n t , t h a t many were concerned about t h e work l o a d f o r s t u d e n t s , t h a t some c o m p l a i n e d o f e x c e s s i v e c l e r i c a l work, t h a t some b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e r e was t o o much assessment i n some s u b j e c t s , and t h a t some were w o r r i e d a b o u t l a c k o f c o m p a r a b i l i t y between s u b j e c t s and between s c h o o l s The same s t u d y f o u n d t h a t w h i l e s t u d e n t s seemed t o g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t assessment p r a c t i c e s t h e y were concerned about some a s p e c t s o f t h e s e
CONTINUATION OF THE TE SCORE SYSTEM
F o l l o w i n g t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f ROSBA, t h e BSSS c o n t i n u e d t o make m i n o r improvements t o t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e T E Score System and i n v e s t i g a t e p o s s i b l e a l t e r n a t i v e systems The system c o n t i n u e d t o come under c o n t i n u a l c r i t i c i s m , much o f w h i c h was m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g caused by t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e s y s t e m Many s t u d e n t s b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e i r T E Score w o u l d s u f f e r i f t h e y d i d n o t choose s c i e n c e and maths s u b j e c t s A c c u s a t i o n s were made t h a t some s c h o o l s t r i e d t o i n f l u e n c e T E Scores by c o a c h i n g i n ASAT t e s t s , and by p e r s u a d i n g t h e l e s s capable s t u d e n t s o f s t a y i n g away when t h e a n n u a l ASAT t e s t was h e l d Some b e l i e v e d t h a t s t u d e n t s who d i d n o t t a k e t h e ASAT t e s t s s e r i o u s l y w o u l d d e p r e s s t h e r e s u l t s o f t h o s e s t u d e n t s who wanted t o go t o t e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s I t was a l l e g e d t h a t ASAT had a c u l t u r a l , sex and c o n t e n t b i a s Some p e o p l e t r i e d t o compare T E Scores from one y e a r t o t h e n e x t , w h i c h was an i n v a l i d c o m p a r i s o n Many employers c o n t i n u e d t o r e l y t o o h e a v i l y on t h e T E Score as a measure o f g e n e r a l a p t i t u d e , i n s t e a d o f making g r e a t e r use o f t h e wide range o f i n f o r m a t i o n on BSSS C e r t i f i c a t e s The p r e s s was c o n s i s t e n t l y c r i t i c a l o f t h e T E Score SyBtem, sometimes e x h i b i t i n g a l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f how i t w o r k e d and sometimes c o n f u s i n g i t w i t h t h e o v e r a l l system o f assessment
By 1986, Queensland had t h e h i g h e s t Year 12 r e t e n t i o n r a t e o f a l l t h e A u s t r a l i a n S t a t e s , and, a t t h e same t i m e , t h e l o w e s t p e r c a p i t a p e r c e n t a g e o f t e r t i a r y p l a c e s T h i s t r e n d i n c r e a s e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g years and c r e a t e d s t r o n g c o m p e t i t i o n f o r p l a c e s The number o f Year 12 s t u d e n t s r e p e a t i n g t h e y e a r t o o b t a i n h i g h e r s c o r e s i n c r e a s e d A t t h e same t i m e , a l l Year 12 s t u d e n t s had t o compete w i t h mature age s t u d e n t s g a m i n g e n t r y by o t h e r means, s t u d e n t s who had d e f e r r e d e n t r y and s t u d e n t s who s t a r t e d t e r t i a r y c o u r s e s which were n o t t h e i r f i r s t c h o i c e s w i t h t h e aim o f s w i t c h i n g t o t h e i r p r e f e r r e d c o u r s e s as soon as t h e i r t e r t i a r y marks were h i g h enough t o b o o s t t h e i r TE scores t o t h e r e q u i r e d l e v e l s As a r e s u l t by 1990 o n l y about 50% o f t e r t i a r y placeB were g o i n g t o s t u d e n t s who were f u l l - t i m e Year 12 s t u d e n t s These t r e n d s r e s u l t e d i n v e r y c l o s e p u b l i c s c r u t i n y o f t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e TE S c o r e System
I n 1986, t h e BSSS r e q u e s t e d s u b m i s s i o n s on t h e TE Score System T e r t i a r y i n s t i t u t i o n s d i d n o t appear t o f a v o u r i n t r o d u c i n g t h e i r own t e r t i a r y e n t r y schemes, b u t t h e y a l l f a v o u r e d changes One o f t h e l e s s c r i t i c a l v i e w p o i n t s was t h a t o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Queensland w h i c h , w h i l e c r i t i c a l o f ASAT, m a i n t a i n e d t h e TE Score system had g e n e r a l l y been a good p r e d i c t o r o f f u t u r e p e r f o r m a n c e Other v i e w p o i n t s , such as t h o s e o f t h e QTU, c a l l e d f o r t h e a b o l i t i o n o f t h e s i n g l e i n d e x T E Score and i t s r e p l a c e m e n t by s c h o o l based assessment and such o t h e r p r o c e d u r e s as s t u d e n t p r o f i l e s , i n t e r v i e w s , and q u o t a s f o r d i s a d v a n t a g e d groups
I n subsequent p r e s s s t a t e m e n t s , some c o m m e n t a t o r s l o o k e d beyond changes t o t h e system Two c r i t i c s , Mary K e l l y , P r e s i d e n t o f t h e QTU, and Mike M i d d l e t o n ,
on t h e s t a f f o f t h e B r i s b a n e C o l l e g e o f Advanced E d u c a t i o n , p o i n t e d o u t what t h e y r e g a r d e d as t h e i n c o m p a t i b l e t a s k s o f t h e BSSS - t h e p r o v i s i o n o f a g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n and s e l e c t i o n o f s t u d e n t s f o r t e r t i a r y e d u c a t i o n , two t a s k s w h i c h ' p u l l i n d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n s , two p r e s s u r e s t e a r i n g e d u c a t i o n a p a r t ' A n o t h e r commentator, Max H o w e l l , s a i d t h a t t h e p r o b l e m would o n l y be s o l v e d when S t a t e and F e d e r a l governments p r o v i d e d s u f f i c i e n t t e r t i a r y p l a c e s
I n 1987 a W o r k i n g P a r t y , e s t a b l i s h e d as a r e s u l t o f BSSS i n i t i a t i v e , i s s u e d a r e p o r t , T e r t i a r y E n t r a n c e i n Queensland A Review T h i s r e p o r t made many recommendations f o r change which were i n f l u e n c e d by t h e d i m e n s i o n o f f a i r n e s s , sometimes a t t h e expense o f m e c h a n i c a l s i m p l i c i t y A m a j o r recommendation was t h a t e l i g i b l e s t u d e n t s r e c e i v e an Achievement P o s i t i o n P r o f i l e w h i c h i n v o l v e d complex p r o c e d u r e s A c t i n g on two Working P a r t y recommendations, t h e BSSS i n 1988 i n t r o d u c e d a m a j o r r e f i n e m e n t t o t h e e x i s t i n g TE Score System, and i n t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r , t o enhance ASAT as a s c a l i n g d e v i c e , added a W r i t i n g Task t o ASAT
A Department o f E d u c a t i o n Research Report (1990) i n d i c a t e d t h a t most s t u d e n t s d i s l i k e d and m i s t r u s t e d t h e TE Score System w h i c h t h e y p e r c e i v e d as b e i n g surrounded by m y s t e r y and s u s p i c i o n The R e p o r t i n d i c a t e d t h a t t e a c h e r s g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d t h e system b u t q u e s t i o n e d i t s v a l i d i t y and t h e way e m p l o y e r s used i t The r e p o r t e x p r e s s e d t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e recommendations o f T e r t i a r y E n t r a n c e i n Queensland A Review w o u l d n o t overcome t h e c o m p l e x i t y w h i c h had c r e a t e d much m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g and c o n f u s i o n
P r i o r t o t h e S t a t e e l e c t i o n s o f December 1989, t h e Labor P a r t y had d e c l a r e d t h a t i t would r e p l a c e t h e TE Score System F o l l o w i n g t h e success o f t h e Labor P a r t y i n t h e e l e c t i o n s , t h e new Labor C a b i n e t approved i n December 1989 f u n d i n g f o r an e x t r a 1,500 t e r t i a r y p l a c e s , and i n F e b r u a r y 1990 t h e new M i n i s t e r f o r E d u c a t i o n , P a u l Braddy, announced t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f P r o f e s s o r V i v i a n i t o r e v i e w t e r t i a r y e n t r a n c e p r o c e d u r e s i n Queensland and t o p r e s e n t a r e p o r t and recommendations by 30 June 1990
Meanwhile, as a r e s u l t o f amendments t o t h e E d u c a t i o n A c t i n 1988 t h e Board o f Secondary S c h o o l S t u d i e s was r e p l a c e d by t h e Board o f S e n i o r Secondary S c h o o l S t u d i e s i n 1989 The M i n i s t e r f o r E d u c a t i o n had i n c r e a s e d power over t h i s Board and t h e Board was g i v e n o n l y t e m p o r a r y c o n t r o l o f J u n i o r C e r t i f i c a t i o n
