The General Achievement Test (GAT), as its name suggests, is a general test - it's not a test of knowledge about a particular subject or topic. It measures the level of general achievement students have accomplished.
The GAT is a pen-and-paper test of general knowledge and skills taken by students in the course of completing their senior secondary studies.
The GAT plays an important role in the quality assurance of VCE assessments and also provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate they meet the Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Standards expected at a senior secondary level.
No special study is needed. Past study of subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and History prepares students for the GAT by building their general knowledge and skills in writing, numeracy and reasoning.
The GAT is split into two sections:
Section A will assess literacy and numeracy skills
Literacy and numeracy skills are developed and assessed over the course of students' education. There is a wide range of assessments conducted that measure student attainment and progress over their schooling (e.g. NAPLAN). The GAT will provide an additional measure of literacy and numeracy skills as students complete their senior school education.
Section B assesses skills in mathematics, science, technology, the arts and humanities, with an increased focus on critical and creative thinking skills
The GAT is an essential part of the VCE assessment process. While it is important that students attempt the GAT, the test does not count directly towards their VCE. GAT results are used to check that VCE external assessments and school-based assessments have been accurately and fairly assessed. The VCAA has to be satisfied that an "A" awarded in one school means the same as an "A" awarded in another school. The GAT is used because its results are a good predictor of final assessments for VCE studies. If a student has done well in the GAT, they are likely to do well in their other assessments.
GAT results may play a part in determining the final score for a VCE external assessment, if a student has a derived examination score approved for that assessment.
The GAT has an additional purpose of measuring student literacy and numeracy skills.
Students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3–4 sequence will be expected to sit Sections A and B of the GAT. Students enrolled in Senior VCEVM will be expected to sit Section A only. If students are enrolled in Senior VCEVM as well as one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3–4 sequence, they will be expected to sit Sections A and B.
While the GAT already plays an important role in the quality assurance of VCE assessments, it will now also provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate they have the literacy and numeracy skills expected of students completing studies at senior secondary level.
The GAT remains an essential part of the VCE quality assessment process. GAT component scores (from Sections A and B), while not counting directly towards VCE results, play an important role in checking that School-based Assessments and external assessments have been accurately assessed.
GAT results are also used in the calculation of the Derived Examination Score (DES).
The VCAA applies statistical moderation procedures to School-based Assessment scores to ensure that they are comparable across the state and fair to all students. The statistical moderation process compares the level and spread of each school’s assessments of its students in each study with the level and spread of the same students’ scores in the external assessment, and adjusts the school scores, if necessary.
In some studies, GAT component scores will also be used for statistical moderation. This will be done only if they provide a better match with School-based Assessments throughout the state. The external assessment scores will always have the major influence in the statistical moderation calculations.
The GAT is used as part of a final check on external assessment scores. If the final score for an external assessment is significantly different from the score predicted by the GAT, school indicative grades and any other external assessment final scores for the study, the external assessment will be assessed again by the chief assessor. Scores may go up or stay the same, but they will not go down as a result of this final check.
The calculation for the Derived Examination Score (DES) uses all available scores for the student in the affected study, the indicative grade for any external assessments provided by the school and the GAT component scores. For each approved application for a specific external assessment, the VCAA will calculate a range of possible DES scores, which will be calculated statistically from the student’s other assessments, including:
moderated School-based Assessments
GAT component scores
other external assessment scores, if applicable
indicative grades provided by the school.
The contribution made by the graded assessments, the indicative grade and the GAT component scores is determined by analysis of the comparison data with the final score for the specific external assessments for all students who have not applied for a DES. For all external assessments, the two graded School-based Assessment scores provide the greatest contribution to all the predictors.
If a student is eligible for a DES and the highest of the predictors is greater than the achieved external assessment score, the highest predictor is chosen as the final score for the student in the relevant external assessment.