Year 11 families are breaking new ground this year as the first to experience Queensland’s revamped senior schooling and tertiary entrance systems.
2019 is an historic year for schooling in the state with the commencement of the new Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE).
More than 50,000 students entering Year 11 this year, which includes about 11,500 at independent schools, will be the first to study new senior subjects, such as Psychology, and the first to graduate with a nationally recognised Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) instead of an Overall Position (OP).
They will also be the first Queensland senior students in more than 40 years to sit external assessment at the end of Year 12 as part of the new QCE.
Independent Schools Queensland Executive Director David Robertson said independent schools and their communities were well prepared for the new QCE which built on the best of the state’s current senior schooling system.
“Given today’s students are predicted to have 17 jobs over five careers, it is imperative that our education system continues to evolve to meet the demands of the future,” Mr Robertson said.
“Independent schools have contributed their expertise to the redesign of more than 100 senior syllabuses, taken part in external assessment trials and engaged with the wide range of professional learning offered by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) on the new system,” he said.
“These reforms have impacted the majority of independent schools with about 160 schools, or almost 80 percent of the sector, educating senior students.”
“At the chalkface independent schools have invested significant time and resources in redesigning their senior programs and school timetables and preparing their staff to deliver the new QCE.”
“At the same time schools are also ensuring that Year 12s who are completing their schooling under the existing system this year continue to receive the teaching guidance and support they need.”
“Students entering Year 12 this year and their families can feel confident in the strength and rigour of Queensland’s OP system which has served the state well for 26 years.”
Queensland Independent Schools Parents Network Executive Officer Sue Kloeden said independent schools had run information sessions for high school parents on the senior changes and had also supported students and families with subject choices and pathway planning.
“Parents with children in Year 11, who I have spoken with or heard from, feel well informed about the changes and are confident in the expertise of the state’s curriculum and education authorities in delivering the new QCE system,” Ms Kloeden said.
“Parents should also feel reassured by the extensive consultation and preparation that has gone into developing, trialling and finalising the new system over the past five years.”
The QCAA has prepared a range of fact sheets and resources on the new QCE system for Year 11s in 2019 and launched a new website for students called myQCE | READ MORE
The QCAA has also provided parents of Year 12 students in 2019 – the last seniors to graduate under the OP system – with important information | READ MORE
