Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)

Young people are required by legislation to stay at school until they finish Year 10 or turn 16, whichever comes first. After that, if they are not working at least 25 hours per week, young people will need to:

• Stay in education or training for a further 2 years, OR
• Get a QCE, OR
• Get a Certificate III vocational qualification or higher, OR
• Turn 17
  Whichever comes first.

The new law also means that, from January 2006, every young Queenslander must be registered with the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) in Year 10 or in the year before they turn 16.  This will occur automatically for students at Mountain Creek SHS.

The Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) will be issued ONLY to students who meet the requirements outlined in the QCE Credit Table.

QCE Credit Table
This credit table lists the types of learning that can contribute towards a QCE, their values and the standards required.

The Student Education Profile (SEP)

If you are completing Year 12 in Queensland you are considered for entry to tertiary courses based on the Student Education Profile, issued in December.

The SEP is made up of two documents – The Senior Statement and the Tertiary Entry Statement.

• Subject Results – Senior Statement – all students
• Queensland Core Skills Test – all students who sit the QCS test
• Overall Position (OP) – tertiary entrance statement – OP eligible students

Senior Statement

The Senior Statement is issued by the QSA Queensland Studies Authority to students who complete Year 12.  It shows the exit levels of achievement in Authority and Authority-Registered subjects, and final results in approved TAFE courses, and Vocational Education courses/modules and in some A.M.E.B. and Trinity College courses.

The Queensland Core Skills Test (QCS)

The QCS Test will be compulsory for all students who want a complete Student Education Profile for tertiary entrance.  The QCS Test will be closely related to the high level skills now taught in the senior curriculum.  It will be used to compare the level of achievement at your school with the levels of achievement at other schools.  The QCS Test will be used for scaling.  The QCS Test will be constructed especially for the Queensland curriculum.  The test itself will be made public after each student has sat for it, and each student will receive an individual result.

The Core Skills Test result will be one of five grades, (A,B,C,D,E) as part of the Tertiary Entrance Statement.

Tertiary Entrance Statement

A Tertiary Entrance Statement will be provided by the Queensland Studies Authority to students eligible for tertiary entrance only.  This statement will contain the student’s Overall Position (OP) and performance in up to five fields of study.  (Field Positions – FP)

To qualify for a Tertiary Entrance Statement a student must:

• Study the equivalent of 5 Authority subjects over the 2 years
• Study three (3) Authority subjects continuously over the 2 years
• Sit for the Core Skills Test

Overall Position 

This is calculated by taking your performance in the equivalent of your best 5 Authority subjects in Years 11 and 12.  You must study at least 3 Authority subjects for the complete two years, and the remainder can be made up of other Authority subjects.  All subjects count equally when calculating this position, and your results will be compared with other students using the QCS Test.  The result in this section will be reported in 25 bands, with the highest being 1.

Field Positions

Field Positions (FPs) are calculated by combining results in related subjects.  As the fields measure different qualities, subjects are weighted in individual fields according to the skills they will measure.  A simple description of what each field involves is:

• FIELD A:  Written Expression
• FIELD B: Reading Comprehension and Language Expression
• FIELD C: Basic Numeracy
• FIELD D: Complex Mathematical Problem-solving
• FIELD E: Creative and Practical Arts