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TASMANIAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

Working Paper on a New Tasmanian Senior Secondary

Completion Certificate

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Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................3 Why have a completion/graduation certificate?.......................................................3 What will the certificate be called, and what does it say? ........................................4 What information will the new completion/graduation certificate provide?.............5 What will successful completion be based on?........................................................6

Literacy, numeracy and ICT ...............................................................................6 A mixture of studies ...........................................................................................6 Non-academic skills ...........................................................................................7

Successful completion — a working example for discussion purposes....................8 Employability and community skills.................................................................10 Three features of a completion/graduation certificate........................................10

Factors that will influence the format and rules of the new certificate ...................11 1. Core elements...............................................................................................11 2. Inclusion.......................................................................................................12 3. Single certificate...........................................................................................12 4. Record both achievement and participation...................................................12 5. Complement Guaranteeing Futures ...............................................................12 6. Post–Year 10 curriculum review...................................................................13 7. Credit system................................................................................................13 8. University/tertiary entrance requirements......................................................13

Who will use the new completion certificate?.......................................................13 Young people ...................................................................................................13 Employers and recruitment organisations..........................................................14

Minimum requirements ........................................................................................14 Determining credit................................................................................................15

Size ..................................................................................................................15 Level/Complexity .............................................................................................15 Robustness .......................................................................................................17

Credit allocation ...................................................................................................17 Contact Us............................................................................................................18 For further information contact:............................................................................18 References............................................................................................................19 Appendix..............................................................................................................20

Literacy ............................................................................................................20 Numeracy/mathematical literacy.......................................................................20 Information and communication technology (ICT) ...........................................21

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Introduction This paper describes the choices and issues in developing a new Tasmanian senior secondary completion certificate. It is a working document that will be changed by what we learn during consultations. Consultations will discuss issues set out in brief summaries. If you would like more detailed analysis, you will find it in this working paper. We welcome your comments on any of it.

Why have a completion/graduation certificate? The development of a new certificate that would recognise a range of students’ skills and abilities at the end of their senior schooling came out of the Minister for Education’s acceptance of recommendations from a report into upper secondary (Years 9–12) curriculum and certification compiled by Professor Ros Arnold. The new certificate arose in the context of policy recommendations in the important and influential Learning Together vision for Tasmanian education in the 21st century. These recommendations dealt with “creating a comprehensive post-compulsory education strategy for Tasmania”. In particular, the rationale for establishing a Tasmanian Qualifications Authority was based on the need to recognise a broader range of qualifications, and to clarify the relationship between them in a way that would encourage real, lifelong learning. In preliminary consultations in 2004, stakeholders gave general support for establishing a single certificate that recorded achievement across a range of learning areas, from Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) subjects to vocational education and training programs, and including learning in informal areas not necessarily based on a syllabus. The stakeholders stressed the need to recognise achievement in literacy, numeracy and information communications technology, and to record achievements in what are termed “employability skills”. We also reached agreement that such a certificate should be awarded only if some minimum set of standards had been reached. There are other practical reasons why a certificate that recognises significant achievement at the end of the formal years of schooling is timely. The current TCE is a formal certificate of results. A “satisfactory achievement” award in any subject earns the TCE. With no greater minimum requirements, the possession of the certificate alone is of little value beyond recognising that the student actually attended school, and, to some degree, was successful. In addition, the Department of Education’s recent and comprehensive strategy for post–Year 10 education and training, Tasmania: A State of Learning, while not explicitly calling for a completion certificate, provides a context, in its Guaranteeing Futures part of the strategy, in which such a certificate would sit comfortably. With a significant focus on providing

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multiple pathways for young people to follow to move from formal schooling to further education, employment and training, it makes a lot of sense to provide a certificate that (a) recognises achievement across a range of learning areas, and (b) requires a particular level of achievement for it to be awarded at all. The call for a completion/graduation certificate comes at a time when other states are embarking on or enhancing similar programs. The proposed Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) will be a comprehensive certificate that recognises a wide range of learning. Likewise, the new Western Australia Certificate of Education (WACE) not only recognises a diverse range of learning, but also requires students to meet set standards in English language competence, as well as evidence of at least 20 hours in community service. South Australia has also recently reviewed its South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). Beyond Australia, Singapore has developed a School Graduation Certificate which recognises academic and non-academic achievement as well as a “qualitative assessment of the student” which identifies personal qualities including interpersonal skills, “intellectual independence” and “civic mindedness and social responsibility”. As part of their overall graduation requirements, British Columbia has developed a Graduation Portfolio in which students compile evidence of achievement beyond their academic program. Poland has also introduced a new kind of baccalaureate requirement as from 2005. This working paper is the first stage in developing the new certificate. It sets out the issues we need to consider, principally the “areas of learning” that should be included, along with the practicalities of including a relatively wide range of achievement. It raises issues to do with the kind of information that should be included on the actual certificate, how successful completion might be determined (including what minimum requirements should be considered), and the idea of a flexible system of credit for determining success. This paper also begins to develop an idea of how the certificate might look. We want this working paper to provide the focus for a short consultation period when stakeholders can think about and discuss the issues. We will also use it to help us promote the proposed new certificate.

What will the certificate be called, and what does it say? As do other states and jurisdictions, we prefer to include the term “Certificate of Education”, as in the Western Australian Certificate of Education, and the Queensland Certificate of Education. The term “Tasmanian Certificate of Education” is immediately recognisable, up to date, and it means something to all stakeholders and potential clients. Recognition that a student has met the requirements for “graduation” from senior secondary studies should appear on the certificate — something like this: “This certifies that Candidate A has successfully completed a full program of senior secondary studies” or “This certifies that Candidate A has met the requirements for senior secondary graduation”.

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Some people feel that “graduation” is not the right term, as they see a possible confusion with university graduation. Others have said that the use of the word “completion” is not right, as it may suggest to students that they have completed their education. The whole idea of a senior secondary completion certificate is to send a signal that a student has successfully completed the senior secondary phase of learning, meeting minimum requirements for participation and achievements. A student who does not meet every one of the requirements for “successful completion of a full program of senior secondary studies” may still have met the requirements for particular qualifications, including TCE syllabuses, TQA-accredited courses, or VET certificates. These students will also receive formal, official certification of their achievements. VET certificates are issued by the registered training organisation (RTO) that delivered the training, and the TQA is responsible for certifying that a student has met the requirements for qualifications in TCE syllabuses and TQA-accredited courses. Using the term “senior secondary” rather than “Year 12” may help to show that there are several, equally valid, ways to complete these studies, perhaps over a number of years, with a mixture of full and part-time studies and employment. Use of the term “Year 12” may imply that we expect students to follow a two year course of full-time studies immediately after Year 10. The term “Year 12” may, however, have wider immediate public currency than “senior secondary studies”.

What information will the new completion/graduation certificate provide? People need a clear and simple summary of what the new certificate means, and what each qualification means. The new certificate must: • give a clear statement about what “completion” actually means — what the

minimum requirements are; • state that the student has met the requirements for being awarded the completion

certificate; • show the student’s qualifications in TCE syllabuses, VET, and TQA-accredited

courses; • summarise information about the qualifications listed on the certificate and where

to find more details about the content and standards of these qualifications. Comprehensive information about all senior secondary qualifications (TCE subjects, TQA-accredited courses, VET studies, TQA-recognised studies) that may appear on the new certificate will already be held by the TQA, and will include: • aspects specific to a particular course of study, such as mathematics, hospitality, or

music (“domain-specific learning/skills”) — these are documented in TCE syllabuses, VET training packages, accredited courses and similar documents;

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• generic skills shown by the qualifications — these are “employability skills” (communication, teamwork, problem-solving, self-management); ICT skills; and literacy and numeracy skills;

• the level and complexity of learning (a statement about the demands made by the

study); • the size and volume of learning (a sense of how big the study is — perhaps based

on notional hours for formal program-based courses and some equivalents for formal learning that is not based on a prescribed course of study but is recognised through a formal external assessment process (non-provider-based learning – for example, AMEB music examinations);

• robustness (determines what weight we can place on a result).

What will successful completion be based on? The Toward a Tasmanian Year 12 Completion Certificate Discussion Paper (2004) makes the point that “the desired learning outcomes (recorded in the certificate) should include achievements not only in pre-tertiary subjects but also in vocational education and work-related training, and other outcomes arising from informal learning that can be shown to contribute to the development of important personal attributes and life skills” (p. 6). Recognising a broader range of learning is a key part of the government’s plan to engage more young people in learning as they move from school to working life and a productive future. The proposed completion certificate will recognise this broad range of learning, but it will also require and recognise “successful completion”. “Successful completion” means that young people must meet particular standards established by the TQA through its accreditation and certification process of programs and courses of studies across TCE, VET and other areas.

Literacy, numeracy and ICT There is one thing on which just about everybody, particularly employers, agrees — that learning must be built around the essential skills of literacy, numeracy, and information and communication technology (ICT). Put another way, to gain the certificate, students must demonstrate, in some way, that they have reached the required standard in literacy, numeracy, and ICT. Examples of what the standards might be are provided in the Appendix.

A mixture of studies Young people should complete a range of studies within a structured learning program, and these can include TCE and VET subjects and units. Again, an agreed level of achievement would be specified, but the mixture of subjects/units would be worked out to give students the best chance of finding the pathways that will take them in the best direction after leaving school.

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Non-academic skills Many people suggest that the new certificate should recognise skills and learning not necessarily picked up at school, or through a formal school-based academic process. In Tasmania over 70 per cent of young people are reported as having some kind of part-time job, and a lot of this involves both accredited and informal on-the-job training. Likewise, many young people participate in voluntary community programs, or take part in activities like scouting, guiding, or other special programs. These sorts of things would be recognised as additional areas of learning that can contribute to the award of the certificate. From 2005, the TQA has criteria and processes for recognising learning in formal programs such as the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, AMEB, Trinity College of Music, Queens Scouts, and St Cecilia’s School of Music. Generic skills that have been identified in, for example, the Employability Skills Framework may be incorporated into both TCE and VET training packages, courses and units and could potentially be reported on as a part of the new completion certificate. The diagram, Model of Tasmanian Senior Secondary Completion Certificate, shows how we see the components of the certificate.

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Successful completion — a working example for discussion purposes A completion certificate is something gained by individual students — each student must meet the requirements. But there are different views on what should be in the list of minimum requirements. The shorter the list of minimum requirements, the more easily people will understand what the certificate means (and the more simply and

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fairly the rules can be applied) — but a short list of minimum requirements will leave out something many people see as very important. To illustrate the practical issues involved, we have developed the following example. In the first example (see box), Michael’s participation and achievement are stated in positive terms. In this first boxed example, the only things shown on the certificate are minimum levels of literacy, numeracy and ICT competence (core elements), and a statement about Michael’s completion of 50 units of credit in structured learning. The structured learning components require a minimum level of participation and achievement that can be achieved in many different ways. A student who has not met each and every one of the requirements in both core and structured learning areas will not have met the requirement for successful completion. Michael has successfully completed a full program of senior secondary studies in Tasmania. This means that during his studies he has: 1. demonstrated successful achievement in core skills in at least the required level of

literacy, numeracy and ICT skills — to see what the minimum required skill levels are, go to www.tqa.tas.gov.au/basicsskills

2. reached a satisfactory standard of achievement in at least 120 units of credit in senior secondary studies with at least 80 units of credit at or above TCE level 3/AQF II. Senior secondary studies may include TQA-accredited courses, VET competencies or VET qualifications, TCE senior secondary subjects or TQA-recognised qualifications — to see the range of possible studies, go to www.tqa.tas.gov.au/seniorsecondarystudieslevels

3. participated in at least 150 hours of additional recognized activity, such as volunteer or paid work or sporting activity.

Some other significant aspects of participation and achievement during senior secondary studies were not shown on the certificate example above. If they had been included, they might have appeared like this: Michael has also: 4. successfully realised the goals of a participation record/pathway plan — to see

ways in which students do this, go to www.tqa.tas.gov.au/pathways 5. demonstrated skills of planning, self-management and independent learning — to

see the ways in which students can do this, go to www.tqa.tas.gov.au/independentlearning

6. successfully conveyed information in a variety of written and verbal forms as appropriate for particular audiences — see www.tqa.tas.gov.au/employmentskills

7. successfully formed working relationships with others — to see the opportunities students have to do this in their studies, go to www.tqa.tas.gov.au/interpersonalskills

8. participated in the community in at least 50 hours of paid employment, involvement with a community organisation or voluntary work — further details at www.tqa.tas.gov.au/workinginthecommunity

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Under the Youth Participation in Education and Training (Guaranteeing Futures) Act (2005) all young people at the conclusion of Year 10 or upon turning 16 will be required to participate in a range of “eligible options” specified in a “participation record” of proposed study or training lodged with the TQA. The completion certificate could conceivably both require and show success in meeting the objectives and goals of the participation record.

Employability and community skills Students demonstrate their employability skills in different ways, and the new completion certificate could recognise these. Completion certificates (for example, the Welsh Baccalaureate) can require some form of community participation. Indeed, the certificate might acknowledge success in employment, a group or team-based project, or success in a voluntary community-based project, like Meals On Wheels or collectively running a playgroup.

Obviously there are variations to what might be included on the new certificate. The central, really important issue is how much information should and could be included on the certificate, bearing in mind the needs of users, particularly employers.

There are costs and benefits in the quantity of information presented on a certificate. Employers say that too much information on a certificate is seldom valued or used, but information about, for example, employability skills, is highly desirable.

Three features of a completion/graduation certificate The statements in the examples of Michael’s certificate illustrate two other possible features of a completion certificate: There are different ways to achieve the requirements: in the examples, there is no one program, no single test, that provides the only way in which all students must demonstrate that they have the required skills, knowledge and participation. It is necessary to have some way to describe learning in terms of ‘how much’ and ‘what level’: in the examples, we have referred to units of credit and the current TCE levels, which range from level 2 to level 5, and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate II. There is more discussion of these issues later. Electronic links provide full details of brief statements on paper: the statements in the examples are not as brief as they could be nor do they give a full description of what each requirement means and how it has been met. When certificates are electronic rather than on paper, web-links to further details will be much more helpful.

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Q1: Are the core requirements in the first example the right ones? What should be the minimum requirements for completion/graduation? What should be left out? What must be included? What other requirements should be added? Should or could some items be optional? Q2: Is the requirement for completion/graduation suggested by the example set so high that a significant number of students would not be able reach it no matter how hard and for how long they worked? If so, does this matter? Q3: Is the requirement for completion/graduation suggested by the example so low that it would challenge very few students? If so, would this diminish the value of graduation from senior secondary studies? Q4: How brief should the statements be? How should the certificate let people know what it means, providing clear, simple, brief and useful descriptions of the achievement it represents?

Factors that will influence the format and rules of the new certificate We now look at eight factors that came out of the work of: • the previous Year 12 Certificate Project Steering Committee; • feedback from stakeholders during 2004, and laid out in the Tasmanian Year 12

Completion/Graduation Certificate — Setting Minimum Requirements document; • related work being undertaken by, for example, the PY10 Curriculum Review team. The eight factors we will now examine are the main influences on the format and rules of the new certificate.

1. Core elements Students may demonstrate that they have met the minimum requirements in the essential literacies in ways that include the following: • Successful achievement in particular subjects — for example, TCE English,

Mathematics and IT, VET workplace communication, numeracy, ICT competencies.

• Satisfactory achievement in designated, purpose-built literacy, numeracy and IT units. For example, the ACT issues an ICT certificate based on attainment of competencies in basic ICT functions and operations — accessing information, communication and collaboration processes and tools, and authoring and visual presentation. Western Australia has an English-language competence test as a safety net, and Queensland has a Queensland Studies Authority (QSA)-registered subject in literacy and numeracy.

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• Sign-off by at least two registered teachers using an approved Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure that the student has met or exceeded the required standard.

2. Inclusion The new certificate should be able to comfortably record school/syllabus-based performance, VET results, higher education, and other non-school-based certificated learning, and this may eventually include informal learning. The TQA has policies, criteria and processes for recognising formal program-based learning, formal, non-provider-based learning, and informal learning.

3. Single certificate The new completion certificate should be a single certificate, as distinct from Victoria’s dual system of VCE and VCAL, or multi-level certificates, as in the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement. We are working on proposals for a type of “narrative certificate”, that: • goes with, not instead of, the completion certificate — some students may

receive both; • will provide a centrally issued, quality-assured certificate; • will complement “standardised” certificates such as the proposed completion

certificate, with a certificate that records the participation and achievement of students in an “individualised” way, using text;

• is expected to meet the needs of about 70 students a year.

The narrative certificate is not a completion certificate, but a form of certification for students whose needs are best met by an individualised description of their participation and achievements. As part of our commitment to providing qualifications statements upon request and across a lifetime of learning, we will continue to provide formal, official, certificates documenting successful completion of approved and accredited courses for those who do not meet the minimum requirements of the completion certificate.

4. Record both achievement and participation Discussions so far have confirmed strong support for the new certificate to be based on successful achievement in programs or courses of study, and the extent of participation in such learning. This is consistent with the view in Guaranteeing Futures* where, beginning in 2008, young people will have to participate in a range of approved learning activities after Year 10.

5. Complement Guaranteeing Futures Records of plans for participation will be lodged with the TQA at the completion of Year 10 and need to be incorporated into the certificate. Perhaps giving students who achieve their plans some credit towards meeting the completion

* The “Guaranteeing Futures” section of Tasmania: A State of Learning, by the Department of Education.

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requirements would strengthen the perceived value of both participation records and the completion certificate.

6. Post–Year 10 curriculum review Development of the completion certificate will be influenced by the new curriculum framework for the years following Year 10 (the post-Year 10 curriculum framework) which is built around the following four learning elements:

• Personal Pathways, which will need to follow-on from the Guaranteeing Futures and/or Pathway Planning requirements.

• Working in the Community, which may need to recognise informal learning.

• Extended Study — how will this be recognised, accredited and recorded? • Focused Learning, which appears to incorporate most of the traditional,

TCE, syllabus-based learning.

7. Credit system A system of credits is needed so that students can be given appropriate credit towards the requirements of the completion certificate. This approach is widely used, and new, similar certification in Western Australia and Queensland has adopted a credit system. An approved course of study or training can contribute credit which, in turn, denotes the minimum amount of learning that can contribute to the certificate.

8. University/tertiary entrance requirements Although university/tertiary entrance is not really within the scope of this project, the certificate should complement tertiary entrance requirements in Tasmania and elsewhere.

Who will use the new completion certificate? The principal groups who will use the certificate are: • young people; • employers and recruitment organisations.

Young people Most of the policy developments in Learning Together and Tasmania: A State of Learning are aimed at helping young people through the senior secondary phase of learning into further education, training and employment and, in the process, setting the scene for a lifetime of learning. A certificate issued at the end of the senior secondary phase of learning is a powerful statement, seen as a young person’s first significant qualification, and something really valuable. We do not see the certificate as something only issued at the end of Year 12, after two year’s full-time schooling — instead, we see the senior secondary phase of learning as something that can be completed in many ways, over time, possibly with a mixture of full- and part-time learning done in many different ways.

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The completion certificate is issued to mark this successful completion, however it is done, and however long it takes. How much the new completion certificate will be prized by young people will depend a lot on how the community responds to it, particularly employers, people involved in selection and recruitment, senior secondary principals and teachers, parents (particularly via P&F groups and the state body).

Employers and recruitment organisations Our consultations so far with employers and recruitment organisations suggest that our work needs to take into account that: • there is a general lack of confidence among employers about the value of current

qualifications statements, which accounts for the common tendency to use their own validating tests;

• there are now too many different types of certificates, leading to confusion and poor understanding among employers;

• certification showing achievement in literacy and numeracy is not seen as reliable enough;

• personal issues, such as personality, self-confidence, enthusiasm, maturity, and interpersonal skills, are not reflected in current certificates;

• employers and recruitment organisations have not been given enough information when changes to certification and related matters have occurred;

• the differences between small, medium and large employers in what they use in selecting young people (the smaller the enterprise, the less it relies on formal qualifications, and the more it relies on informal, word-of-mouth information);

• employers and recruitment organisations would like to see whether candidates understand and value workplace practices, particularly if that understanding has come about through part-time employment, structured workplace learning and the like;

• evidence of non-academic interests such as community work, voluntary work, interests, employment experience, leadership and involvement in school activity.

The internet is becoming part of recruitment, particularly as an instrument for filtering information and excluding applicants – for example, potential applicants self-screen through completing an on-line questionnaire. This will influence how certification will be used in the future. Q5 What will employers require in the completion certificate to help them want to use it in selecting young people as employees?

Minimum requirements The proposed Senior Secondary Completion Certificate is built around the idea that a minimum level of achievement across core, structured and unstructured learning must be demonstrated before it is awarded. This means we must have a system to work out how different areas of learning can contribute fairly to awarding a certificate. It is also very important that young people who do not succeed in meeting the minimum

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requirements will be able to understand why they did not get the certificate, that the decision was made fairly and equitably and what they need to do to graduate from senior secondary studies. Students who complete senior secondary studies in ways other than through two years of full-time study immediately after Year 10 will also require a fair and equitable system for determining successful completion. At present, young people who combine, for example, a mixture of TCE studies, VET modules and part-time employment, are a challenge to current approaches to successful achievement. Whatever else is said, the main thing remains that all learning that occurs throughout the senior secondary phase of learning (Years 11 and 12), in whatever form, should in principle be able to go towards the awarding of the new certificate. The most appropriate system for allowing students to show that they meet the same requirements but in different ways is through a system of credit.

Determining credit Many authorities use systems of credit to work out the amount of learning young people are doing, and then translate it into a measure to identify minimum participation and achievement before awarding a certificate. Two elements are commonly used in these calculations — size, and level or complexity:

Size Size means “how much”, and is generally based on hours of “average designed learning time” and should include time attending formal instruction, with provision to include learning undertaken at school, in the workplace and in private, and a wide range of learning styles. The Victorian Qualifications Authority (VQA) Credit Matrix has explored a workable and tested measure of determining size for formal, “provider-based” courses, and it works out that 10 hours of average designed learning time = 1 point. So a TCE C syllabus is 15 points. For VET qualifications and competencies we will need to develop some measure of “size”, as there are some obvious differences between different qualifications and competencies. As well as dealing with provider-based courses, we also need to refine the process for working out size for formal, but non-provider-based, courses such as AMEB. We may also eventually need a process for informal learning. In 2005, we approved criteria and processes for this as part of our program for recognising other learning on the TCE.

Level/Complexity Level/Complexity, which is not “how much” but more like “how hard”, reflects the demands of the course in terms of:

• knowledge and skills

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• application • degree of independence.

In 2005, we approved criteria and processes for level/complexity as part of our way of recognising other formal learning on the existing TCE. The VQA Credit Matrix uses complexity to distinguish between levels of qualifications under the Australian Qualifications Framework, and recommends using Levels 1–8 to differentiate between levels of complexity, like this: AQF Certificate 1 = Credit Matrix Level 1 AQF Certificate 2 = Credit Matrix Level 2 VCE Units 1 and 2 (Year 11) = Credit Matrix Level 2 AQF Certificate 3 = Credit Matrix Level 3 VCE Units 3 and 4 (Year 12) = Credit Matrix Level 3 AQF Certificate 4 = Credit Matrix Level 4 AQF Diploma and Advanced Diploma = Credit Matrix Levels 4, 5 and 6 AQF Advanced Diploma = Credit Matrix Levels 4, 5 and 6 Degree = Credit Matrix Levels 5 and 6 Masters Degree (Research) = Credit Matrix Levels 7 and 8 Doctoral Degree (Research) = Credit Matrix Levels 7 and 8. Under the VQA Credit Matrix system, however, level/complexity is worked out by looking at units or competencies rather than complete courses. For example, an AQF Certificate III qualification may include competencies at a range of levels of complexity. For completion certificate purposes, it may, for example, be enough to say that a VET course or other TQA recognised qualification is, at least, at the equivalent of TCE level 3. Looking at level/complexity in terms of competencies rather than complete qualifications will help take into account the significant differences in level/complexity between, for example, some VET certificate I and certificate II courses. There are some VET certificate II courses taken by students during their senior secondary studies which require competencies that seem to be significantly more challenging than those given by the Australian Qualifications Framework as characteristic of Certificate II (see the table below).

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Size and level/complexity do not, of course, tell us anything about the content of the senior secondary courses and the extent to which achievement in them demonstrates particular skills. They also do not tell us how much we can rely on the assessment of these courses.

Robustness Robustness (the extent to which results can be held to be reliable and a valid measure of what they set out to measure) is another important element of the TQA’s criteria and processes for recognising a wider range of learning on the TCE. This will be needed as and when students seek credit towards the completion requirements for a wider range of studies.

Credit allocation A system of credit allocation will provide a systematic approach to deciding whether a student’s achievements, taken together, demonstrate achievement at or above the minimum requirements for success. Such a system has to take into account the total amount and quality of learning. It also has to take into account the amount and quality of learning in specific skills (such as literacy, numeracy, ICT, employability skills) if these are also part of the minimum requirements. We are developing processes and criteria to support this system. Other authorities have dealt with this by making up a set of approved studies with a specified credit allocation for each. The amount of credit for each subject or

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unit/module of study is often determined by the amount of time recommended as well as by the level of difficulty. It is really important for this system to allocate credit so that students who nearly meet the requirements are treated fairly and are correctly distinguished from those who just met them. These difficult boundary cases go to the heart of the integrity and justice of the system. One possibility is to include a review process for students who are close to the boundary between just meeting the requirements and just falling short. Allocating credit for achieving a Record of Participation, and also for Extended Study projects such as group projects, is also difficult, particularly if it is seen as allocating bonus credits, as some people have suggested. A student could use bonus credits to, for example, compensate for not meeting some aspect of the minimum requirements.

Contact Us

For further information contact: Mike Frost (Project Manager) Ph: 6233 4649 Mob: 0407 337 846 Fax: 6224 0175 Email: mike.frost@tqa.tas.gov.au

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References Curriculum Council of Western Australia 2005, The New Western Australian Certificate of Education, promotional brochure, Perth. Dellit, J. 2005, Realising a Successful Life: A conceptual framework for SACE student qualities, Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia, Adelaide. http://www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/sace-q.htm Department of Education 2003, Tasmania: A State of Learning – A Strategy for Post-Year 10 Education and Training, Tasmania Department of Education 2000, Learning Together: A vision for education training and information into the 21st century. Tasmania Department of Education, Youth and Family Services, ACT 2005, The ICT Certificate. http://www.decs.act.gov.au/publicat/ict_competencies.htm Ministry of Education, British Columbia 2005, School Graduation Certificate. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/grad1995.htm New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2005, An Introduction to the NCEA. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/ Queensland Studies Authority 2005, Queensland Certificate of Education: Expect Success, Brisbane. http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/ Tasmanian Qualifications Authority 2004, Towards a Tasmanian Year 12 Completion Certificate discussion paper, Hobart. Tasmanian Qualifications Authority 2004, Tasmanian Year 12 Completion/Graduation Certificate: Setting minimum requirements, unpublished paper, Hobart Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification http://www.wbq.org.uk

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Appendix

Literacy

Reading Literacy Task PISA http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/52/33707212.pdf

Numeracy/mathematical literacy

The key elements of the OECD PISA notion of mathematical literacy are • recognising problems that can be solved mathematically • representing them mathematically • solving them.

The PISA project identifies the following competencies as contributing to numeracy : • thinking and reasoning • following and justifying standard quantitative processes • communication • modelling • problem-posing and solving • representation • using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations • use of aids and tools. PISA mathematical literacy performance level 2 Students at this level:

• extract and use relevant information from a single source. • employ basic algorithms, formulae, procedures • answer questions in familiar contexts where all relevant information is present. • carry out routine procedures.

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http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/14/33694881.pdf

Information and communication technology (ICT)

Competencies for high school students (ACT)

Accessing Information Processes and Tools • Use an online catalogue to identify and locate resources for a specific • information need.

• Use keyword search strategies to refine searches.

• Use a browser and search engine to locate and retrieve appropriate information from the World Wide Web.

• Use the information literacy process to develop own information literacy skills and meet individual information needs.