VCE 

The award of the VCE is comprised of the following:

• Completion of coursework

• Completion of assessment for each outcome

• 100% attendance

Each VCE study is made up of 4 units. Unit 1 & 2 are completed in the first year of the course and Units 3 & 4 are completed in the second year. 

Students will complete VCE exams at the end of the second year of the subject. 

Units 1 & 2 grades

For each unit students undertake they will: 

• Sit a number of graded assessments as per the study design provided by VCAA

• Receive an overall Satisfactory (S) or Not Satisfactory (N) result

• Be required to sit a school-based examination at the end of semester

• If a student is awarded an N for an outcome they are awarded an overall N for the unit

• All marks and grades awarded by the school are conditional and may change as a result of statistical moderation conducted by the VCAA

Unit 3 & 4

For each unit students undertake they will: 

• Complete school assessed coursework for each outcome as per the study design provided by VCAA

• Receive a grade for each outcome using the  A+ to UG grade scale

• Receive an overall Satisfactory (S) or Not Satisfactory (N) result

• If a student is awarded an N for an outcome they are awarded an overall N for the unit

• All marks and grades awarded by the school are conditional and may change as a result of statistical moderation conducted by the VCAA

At the completion of Unit 3 & 4 students will receive:

•  A study score for each subject that will contribute to the calculation of the ATAR

• A study score is calculated by the School Assessed Coursework, School Assessed Task (for certain subjects) and their externally assessed examination result

Successful completion of VCE units requires attendance in all classes and assessments. Absences can only be approved with a medical certificate or if the student is participating in a formal school activity. Students who anticipate that they will be absent from school should contact their Positive Education Mentor in advance.

In the event of an extended absence, incident or emergency the college will liaise with the student and their family. 

Family Holidays

Families are kindly asked to limit trips to the designated school holiday periods. Absences due to family holidays will not be approved and assessments are unable to be rescheduled for this purpose. Students who attend a family holiday that affects assessment tasks will be awarded a UG grade for any missed assessments.

What is the study score?

A study score is a ranking (not actually a score) that shows how well you performed in a study (subject) at Unit 3 and 4 level, compared to everyone else in Victoria who took that study. Study scores calculated by the VCAA will be used by VTAC to calculate the ATAR. The maximum study score is 50.

What is the ATAR?

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 that indicates a student’s position relative to all the students in Australia. The ATAR is not a score out of 100 – it is a rank. The ATAR allows tertiary institutions to compare the overall achievements of all students who have completed Year 12.

VET Studies and ATAR

Some VET sequences can also be used towards the ATAR. Please see our Careers Advisor if you have more questions about VET.

University Enhancement Subjects

Any university enhancement study subjects taken (also known as Higher Education study in Year 12) will contribute the calculation of ATARs. 

Restrictions

In each of the study areas of English, Mathematics, History, Information Technology, Languages Other Than English (LOTE) and Music: 

• at most two results from any one study area can contribute to the primary four

• at most three results can contribute to the ATAR, the third being counted as a 10 per cent increment for a fifth or sixth study

Calculating the ATAR

All VCE study scores are scaled to adjust for the fact that it is more difficult to obtain a high study score in some studies than others. The scaled study scores are called ATAR Subject Scores. 

An ATAR aggregate is calculated by adding: 

• a student’s best ATAR Subject Score in any one of the English studies, plus 

• the ATAR Subject Scores of the student’s next best three permissible studies, plus 

• 10 per cent of the ATAR Subject Score for a fifth study (where available), plus 

• 10 per cent of the ATAR Subject Score for a sixth study (where available). 

The total score will be used to place each student in a percentile rank, thus forming their ATAR. 

Students who successfully complete four primary subjects will receive an ATAR. VTAC will use up to six results in calculating the ATAR. If a student has more than six results, the six scores that give the highest ATAR are used. 

The highest rank is 99.95. Ranks below 30.00 will be reported as ‘less than 30’. If a student receives a rank of 75.00, it means that they have achieved an overall result equal to or better than 75% of the applicants for that year. The rank provided by the ATAR places every student in Victoria along a continuous line from highest (99.95) to lowest (0.00).