Transcript of webinar QCE requirements for students completing Year 12 from 2020
This webinar is available from www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/new-snr-assessment-te/qce- requirements.
This webinar will outline the QCE for students completing Year 12 from 2020. It does not cover other aspects of the new QCE system or our current QCE, which students are continuing to work towards. This webinar is current at the time of publishing and further development and revision of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook may have occurred. Please ensure you consult the most up-to-date version for accurate information.
QCAA affirms that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous people of Australia. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land upon which we meet. I pay my respect to Elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, traditions, cultures and the hopes of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
My name is Wiloe Robinson. I am the Principal Education Officer for the QCE review. Tim Roberts, the Principal Education Officer for the QCE and QCIA, has also been part of the review team. I will display our contact details at the end of the presentation if you have any questions.
This webinar is condensed to the essential information. If there is something relevant that isn’t covered today, or you have any questions, please contact us to discuss. Displayed here is an overview of what is covered in this webinar.
It is our goal that by the end of this webinar, you will feel more confident with your understanding of the requirements of the QCE for students completing Year 12 in 2020. Essentially, today we will take you through the QCE requirements — we will not be focusing on SET planning or other aspects of the new QCE system such as endorsement, confirmation or changes to tertiary entrance. If you have questions about any of the new QCE system components, you can send them to the email address displayed at the end of the session.
The Queensland Certificate of Education has been our state’s senior schooling qualification for over 10 years. It was first introduced as an outcome of the Queensland Government’s white paper Queensland the Smart State — Education and Training Reforms for the Future. Its introduction aimed to increase participation and achievement while increasing completion rates for Year 12 or an equivalent.
Since this time, there was a review in 2011 which assessed the appropriateness of the conditions, requirements and processes surrounding the QCE. As a result of the ACER report Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance — recommended changes to senior secondary curriculum, assessment, certification and tertiary entrance, QCAA planned reforms to the Queensland senior curriculum and conducted a review of the QCE. The QCE review involved analysis and review of reports and research, certification across Australia and feedback from stakeholders. The result is the new QCE system, implemented for students completing Year 12 in 2020. This will be the first group of students who are eligible for the new Queensland Certificate of Education.
Resources have been released to support information regarding the new QCE requirements.
These are publicly available on the QCAA website. They include the QCE requirements brochure and three factsheets which address QCE credit: Completed Core requirement, QCE credit and duplication of learning, and QCE literacy and numeracy requirement.
Those with school leader access in the QCAA Portal have access to the draft QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook. This presentation is based on the draft QCE and QCIA policy
Webinar transcript
QCE requirements for students completing Year 12 from 2020
and procedures handbook. As it is a draft, it is important to recognise that there will be revisions or updates in each version released.
While the focus of this webinar is on the new QCE requirements, you may be aiming to identify what will be different from the current QCE. I’ll provide a brief overview of some of the changes, but it is important to remember that the point of truth for the new QCE requirements will remain the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, so schools will have to engage with that in order to provide advice to staff, students and parents for implementation.
A reminder that this webinar will outline each of the requirements in further detail. This is a quick overview. There will be three categories of learning: Core, Preparatory and Complementary.
Complementary replaces the current Enrichment and Advanced categories. Extension subjects will be classified in the Core category of learning.
Another update is when credit accrues. This is as a result of when schools report results to the QCAA. In General and Applied subjects, results will be reported after Unit 1, after Unit 2, after Unit 3 and 4. Unit 3 and 4 will always be grouped as a pair for reporting of results. This allows equity between different subjects, as Unit 3 and Unit 4 may carry different percentages of the overall result for a course of study.
Students will be able to see their progressive results in their learning accounts, meaning more opportunity for them to identify concerns with QCE credit or details of enrolments or completions.
In the new QCE, there is no conceding of semesters. Credit will accrue when the set standard is met.
Vocational education and training will accrue credit for new learning. There are limits on the amount of learning from training packages that may accrue QCE credit, as well as the use of credit transfer. There is also a focus on courses in the Core category of learning contributing credit as the priority. There will be no double-up of credit where QCAA has identified duplication of learning in Applied subjects and Certificate II qualifications. Completed Core credit may need to accrue from a wider range of subjects, as credit may accrue differently; that is, where the set standard is met in a course of study.
The literacy and numeracy requirement change relates to the discontinuation of the notional Sound. Due to the way credit will accrue, the entering of a notional Sound is no longer required from schools.
Automatic relaxation for completed Core requirement will now apply for students changing from any QCAA English subject to another QCAA English subject, as well as for those changing from a QCAA Mathematics subject to another QCAA Mathematics subject. International
Baccalaureate studies will be treated as non-Queensland studies rather than recognised studies.
To be eligible for a QCE, a student must not have been previously issued with a QCE, Senior Certificate or equivalent interstate or overseas qualification.
Students need to ensure that they have an open learning account with the QCAA (schools are responsible for creating student learning accounts). One credit from the Core category of learning must be accrued by the student while they are enrolled at a school. And of course, they need to meet all of the requirements of the QCE.
The four requirements of the QCE are that students must accrue learning to the set amount, at the set standard, in a set pattern, while meeting literacy and numeracy requirements. We will explore these requirements in further detail. If you have the QCE requirements brochure, this is the graphic I will refer to.
Firstly, the set amount of learning. The set amount of learning is 20 credits to the QCE. These credits can accrue from a wide range of learning options, including QCAA-developed subjects such as General (including Extension subjects), Applied (including Essential subjects), short courses, VET qualifications and recognised studies.
Typically, one QCE credit is equal to one unit of learning in a course of study. Credits accrue when the set standard is met. The summary graphic for the set standard is shown here.
To accrue credit to a QCE, students need to achieve the set standard for a course of study. This slide outlines the set standard required. The non-Queensland studies and recognised study set standard are outlined in detail on the QCAA website. Again, on the QCE brochure, this is the summary graphic for the set pattern.
As mentioned earlier, courses of study are classified into three categories of learning: Core, Preparatory and Complementary. Examples of which category courses are allocated to are shown here. Please note that Extension subjects are now in the Core category of learning. The Preparatory category of learning has a maximum of four credits that can accrue to a QCE. The Complementary category of learning has a maximum of eight credits.
The completed Core requirement of the QCE is often a point of confusion for people. The purpose of this requirement is that students see a number of their courses the whole way through, from beginning to end. Credit will accrue when the set standard is met, for example, a grade of C or better.
For General and Applied subjects, to contribute credit to the completed Core requirement, a course must be enrolled in in its entirety and students need to achieve a grade of C or better for the Unit 3 and 4 pair. I will outline some examples shortly.
VET qualifications must be successfully completed to contribute to the completed Core requirement. No partial credit can contribute towards completed Core from incomplete VET qualifications.
In General or Applied subjects and VET qualifications, credit can contribute to the QCE if the set standard is met for partial completion of a course of study; however, it will only contribute to the completed Core requirement when the criteria outlined are met.
The examples shown here are for courses of study, not for one student’s selections. This is not a case study. I will run through a student scenario on the next slide.
Let’s consider each of these subjects, remembering that for General and Applied subjects to contribute to the completed Core requirement, a student must be enrolled in all units of the course and achieve a grade of C or better for the Unit 3 and 4 pair.
A student studies English and achieves a Satisfactory in Unit 1 and a Satisfactory in Unit 2. In Year 12, the student achieves a grade of D for the Unit 3 and 4 pair. This student does accrue credit where the set standard was met; however, as they did not achieve a grade of C or better for the Unit 3 and 4 pair, this credit will not contribute to the 12 credits required from completed Core courses. They accrue two credits in the Core category of learning, zero contributing to completed Core.
Another student studies Geography for all four units. Their results for Unit 1 and Unit 2 are reported as Unsatisfactory. In Year 12, they achieve a grade of C (the set standard) for the Unit 3 and 4 pair. Two QCE credits accrue and these are eligible to contribute to the completed Core.
The student would have accrued two of the 12 credits required from completed Core courses from Geography.
Consider Dance in Practice, where there is an ‘N/S’ for Unit 1 (I have used this to represent that Unit 1 was ‘not studied’). The student began Dance in Practice in Unit 2. They study three of the four units and meet the set standard for Unit 2 and the Unit 3 and 4 pair. Three credits accrue to a QCE but, as the subject was not studied in full, the three credits will not contribute to the completed Core requirement.
If you need time to read over the Essential English, Design and Physics examples, a reminder to hit ‘pause’ until you are ready to move on.
Now let’s consider an example senior schooling pattern. This student has selected six subjects:
five Applied and one General. They also completed a short course. The student has successfully completed all units in Essential English and Music in Practice, each contributing four credits to the completed Core requirement — eight in total. They remained in all of their other subjects for the duration of the courses; however, did not achieve at the set standard in multiple units. Credit
accrues accordingly and is varied for different subjects.
If we look at General Mathematics, Unit 1 is reported as Unsatisfactory. The set standard has not been met, so no QCE credit accrues. In Unit 2, the set standard has been met, as the student is reported as Satisfactory — one credit accrues to a QCE. The Unit 3 and 4 pair meets the set standard, as the student achieved a grade of C or better, accruing a further two credits. This also means that the three credits accrued for General Mathematics are able to contribute to the completed Core requirement.
Science in Practice does not meet the set standard for Unit 1 or Unit 2, but does for the Unit 3 and 4 pair, so two credits accrue to a QCE. As the student did meet the set standard in the Unit 3 and 4 pair, these two credits do contribute to the completed Core requirement.
Visual Art credits are accrued by meeting the set standard in Unit 1 and Unit 2; however, the student does not achieve a grade of C or better for the Unit 3 and 4 pair, so while two credits accrue in the Core category of learning, they do not contribute to the completed Core
requirement.
The Short Course in Numeracy is in the Preparatory category of learning and the student has met the set standard — a grade of C or better. They would accrue one credit to a QCE; however, this would not contribute to the completed Core requirement, as it accrues in the Preparatory category of learning.
As I mentioned when outlining changes to the QCE requirements, the QCAA has extended the relaxation of the completed Core to include students who change from any QCAA English subject to another QCAA English subject, as well as any changes from a QCAA Mathematics subject to another QCAA Mathematics subject. The need to apply for relaxation when changing ‘up’ within English or Mathematics has been removed. For example, a student who completes Unit 1 of Essential Mathematics and Unit 2, 3 and 4 of General Mathematics would not require an application for relaxation of the completed Core.
Students who transfer within Queensland or to Queensland will be able to apply to the QCAA for relaxation of the completed Core requirement where they are not able to continue the same courses of study or need to have previous study acknowledged and recorded in their learning account. There will be further information in future about processes to support the streamlining of this in the QCAA Portal.
In the new QCE, credit will accrue for new learning. There are a number of considerations for this related to vocational education and training. This includes Certificate II level qualifications and Applied subjects, qualifications within the same training package and use of credit transfer. In addition to this, I will outline some further information regarding Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications.
The table published in the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, as well as on the QCE credit and duplication of learning factsheet on our website, provides the current list of Applied subjects and Certificate II qualifications that QCAA has identified as a duplication of learning. This means that the learning in identified subjects or qualifications have similar subject matter and learning goals. Students may enrol in any subject or course; however, QCE credit will accrue only where new learning occurs. For example, if a student completes Hospitality Practices and meets the set standard in all units as well as successfully completing a Certificate II in Hospitality, a maximum of four credits would accrue.
Credit will accrue for either the Applied subject or the Certificate II qualification, whichever is to the benefit of the student. For example, a student who completed a Certificate II in Hospitality and accrued only three credits from Hospitality Practices would accrue the four credits from the completed Certificate II. That being said, credit only applies for one course of study in these cases — a student cannot accrue two credits for Unit 1 and Unit 2 of an Applied subject, and two credits by completing 50% Certificate II. This would be a total of two credits that accrue, not four, due to the identified duplication.
To ensure the depth and breadth of learning for a QCE, there are limits placed on learning that accrues credit from the same VET training package. When a student completes, or partially
completes, multiple qualifications from the same VET training package, qualifications in the Core category of learning contribute credit in the first instance to the QCE. A student who completes only a Certificate I from a training package accrues credit in the Preparatory category of learning.
Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas are in the Complementary category of learning. All completed qualifications are recorded on the statement of results.
An RTO records credit transfer when a student has previously completed the same or an equivalent unit of competency and appropriate evidence is provided. Credit transfer relates to learning in VET qualifications, which is different to ‘credit’ that accrues to a QCE. New learning in VET is identified as units of competency which are recorded as competent rather than as ‘credit transfer’. Features are being built into the IT systems to recognise if a student is reported as competent for a unit of competency more than once and ensure credit accrues appropriately.
Credit will accrue for new learning and it will accrue in 25% increments of the qualification.
Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications represent learning which is complementary to the expectation of core learning during senior schooling. These qualifications may provide valuable pathway options and preparation for some industries for students who undertake them. Credit to a QCE may accrue in the Complementary category of learning for partial or completed Diploma or Advanced Diploma courses. A maximum of eight credits may accrue from the Complementary category of learning to a QCE.
If a student completed a Diploma or Advanced Diploma, QCE credit will accrue only if the
qualification is undertaken or completed while at school. This is in addition to the maximum credit from the relevant training package having not been met in the Core category of learning. If there is remaining credit available, one credit will accrue in the Complementary category of learning for each unit of competency completed in the Diploma or Advanced Diploma, up to a maximum of eight credits.
Again, all completed qualifications are recorded on the Statement of Results.
Examples [of students studying a Diploma while at school]:
1. A student completes a Diploma of Business. They have not undertaken any other
qualifications from the BSB training package. Eight credits would accrue for the completed Diploma.
2. A student completes a Certificate II in Business. This accrues four credits in the Core category of learning. They then complete a Diploma of Business while still at school. There are four credits that are eligible to contribute from the BSB training package. The student accrues a total of eight credits — four in the Core category of learning and four in the Complementary category of learning.
3. A student completes a Certificate III in Fitness and commences a Diploma of Business while at school. The Certificate III accrues eight credits in the Core category. The student
completed eight competencies within the Diploma of Business (one credit accrues for each completed unit of competency). Eight credits would accrue in the Complementary category to a QCE. A total of 16 credits (eight Core, eight Complementary).
A maximum of eight credits can accrue from the same VET training package and a maximum of eight credits can accrue from the Complementary category of learning.
The fourth requirement of the QCE is to meet the literacy and the numeracy standard. The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) provides a consistent national approach to identifying and developing the core skills in diverse contexts. Across Australian schooling systems, the ACSF Level 3 is generally accepted as the benchmark for students completing senior secondary schooling.
Most Queensland students currently meet this requirement through multiple learning options. The new QCE continues to offer a range of learning options to students to demonstrate they are able to meet the literacy and the numeracy requirement. This slide shows a reminder of the set standard that is required. Next I will show you the learning options available.
As you can see, the learning options available to students to meet the literacy and numeracy
requirement are extensive. These are also printed in the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook draft as well as the factsheet on the website.
Let’s consider this student’s selections. During the SET planning process in Year 10, this student decided to undertake the subjects they required for their pathway after school. They also
completed some other subjects which they enjoyed and were good at. As you can see, this student made no subject changes over Year 11 and 12 and achieved Satisfactory for Unit 1 and Unit 2 in all subjects. They achieved a C or better in all courses of study except for Dance. The asterisk in the QCE credits column indicates that credit accrued is eligible to contribute to the completed Core requirement.
This slide shows a checklist of student A’s QCE eligibility with their course selection and results from the previous slide is showing smaller, in the top right corner. The set amount and set standard were achieved in all units and courses studied with the exception of the Unit 3 and 4 pair in Dance. Student A accrued a total of 22 QCE credits — 20 of which were eligible to
contribute to the completed Core requirement of 12 credits. Student A’s learning was all from the Core category of learning. They met the literacy and the numeracy requirements in numerous ways. Student A would be eligible for the issue of their QCE at the end of Year 12.
Student B made some course changes over their senior schooling. They initially enrolled in English, Specialist Mathematics, Mathematical Methods, Visual Art, Earth & Environmental Science and Physics. After completing Unit 1, student B knew that Specialist Mathematics and Mathematical Methods was not for them! They did not require these courses for their future pathway, so they made the change to General Mathematics. This student’s school also had them select another subject: they chose Biology as they were really enjoying their Earth &
Environmental Science. At the end of Year 11, student B was excelling in English and loving it!
They decided to take up English Literature Extension in Year 12, completing the Unit 3 and 4 pair. In order to have some extra time to study, student B chose not to continue with Physics and completed five subjects in Year 12. The asterisk indicates that credit accrued is eligible to
contribute to the completed Core requirement.
As you read over the QCE eligibility checklist for student B, you will see that they have met all of the QCE requirements and is therefore eligible for the issue of her QCE at the end of Year 12.
Student B has met the set amount and set standard, accruing a total of 21 credits. The set pattern included all Core courses of study and 18 of the accrued credits were eligible to
contribute to the 12 credits required from completed Core courses. The literacy standard was met through their achievement in English, and numeracy through achievement in Mathematical Methods and General Mathematics. I’ll give you a moment to review the eligibility checklist.
At the end of Year 12, all students will be issued a Senior Education Profile (SEP). The SEP will include a Statement of Results, which is a transcript of a student’s learning account that includes everything they have studied during senior schooling. The SEP may also include a Queensland Certificate of Education for students who have met the requirements or a Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement, which remains the appropriate option for some students on
individualised learning plans.
Students who do not meet the requirements for the QCE by the end of Year 12 are able to continue to accrue credit after school and will be issued a QCE in the first June or December after they have met the requirements. Learning accounts remain open for nine years, although students can apply to the QCAA if they wish to reopen learning accounts after this time.
For students, the most important thing remains their exploration of future pathways. Schools need to continue to support students to investigate their options, strengths and any requirements for their possible pathways after school.
A reminder that there are resources available on the QCAA website. These are currently found in the ‘new QCE system’ area and are available to anyone. The draft QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook is available to school leaders in the QCAA Portal. Our website is a great place to start if you have any questions regarding the new QCE or the new QCE system. As resources continue to be developed, they will be released to schools. This includes support for
SET planning and QCE eligibility.
In this session we have:
• provided background on the QCE review
• identified the main changes to the QCE requirements
• provided an overview of the QCE eligibility requirements for students completing Year 12 from 2020, and
• identified resources that are currently available to support implementation of the new QCE.
In summary, to be issued with a QCE, students need to complete the set amount of learning, at the set standard, in a set pattern, while meeting literacy and numeracy requirements.
To make sure that you are up to date with everything that is happening, we encourage you to subscribe to memos and also QCAA news for schools; that way, you are not relying on information to filter through your other channels — you will have everything coming directly to you. You can also ‘like’ on one of our social media pages.
Thank you for viewing this webinar. If you have any questions regarding QCE requirements for students completing Year 12 from 2020, you can send them via email to Tim Roberts or myself, or contact us by phone. For any questions regarding other aspects of the new QCE system, please email the Quality Assurance Unit address.
QCAA is here to support schools and we wish you the best with your implementation of the new QCE system, including the new Queensland Certificate of Education.
Thank you for your participation.
