Privacy legislation
A key item for review of VTAC's operations arising from the Privacy legislation was the use of estimated data. As a result of the review estimated ENTERs, which are created using estimated study scores that in turn are generated by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority from estimated grades provided by schools, will be released to applicants during the change of preference week, at a time when they will be of material benefit. Estimated data has been, hitherto, confidential to the selection process.
A joint working party of VTAC, VCAA and institutions was constituted to facilitate improvement of practices and processes associated with the generation and use of estimated data, particularly the integrity of data provided by schools on which subsequent calculations and scores are based. Research had indicated some unevenness both in the interpretation of the ratings to be applied to take account of consideration of disadvantage circumstances and in the proportion of students granted disadvantage.
A range of measures has been instituted, within the existing policy framework, thereby avoiding perturbation to existing and published rules, as a result of these deliberations. Most importantly, VCAA has issued more detailed guidance to schools about the range of matters that are able to be taken into account when considering disadvantage as well as advice about how different categories of disadvantage should be rated. VCAA has also agreed to monitor and validate applications to ensure these guidelines are being appropriately implemented by schools. VTAC has redesigned the form used by applicants to convey information on disadvantage to selection authorities so as to ensure that more relevant and more consistent data is captured from schools.
Institutions have agreed to publish their policies and practices with respect to estimated ENTERs and these will be consolidated on the VTAC website in October 2002.
Cumulative Performance Measures
One of the recommendations of the Kirby Report was that the Victorian Qualifications Authority, in collaboration with VTAC, should look towards introducing increased flexibility into the VCE so as to better cater for diversity. The provision of an ENTER on the basis of less than four ENTER subjects was included as a specific proposal.
In conjunction with the VQA universities and TAFE Institutes have examined ways in which this recommendation can be effected by recognising students' partial achievements, both within the VCE and in combination with other qualifications, in particular the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning.
As a result of these deliberations, a new summative instrument, The Cumulative Performance Measure (CPM), will be introduced in 2003. It will be available to VCE and Senior VCAL graduates who have completed no more than three and no less than two scored VCE studies. The new measure will have the same numerical dimensions as the ENTER and will be available as an additional tool for use by students and selection authorities. It will not, however, be used as a ranking device for all applicants. Rather, eligible students will constitute a separate pool, enabling institutions to select students on the basis of the CPM.
Cumulative Performance Measures will be calculated for the following groups:
- Applicants who have satisfied VCE requirements with or without satisfying tertiary entrance requirements and who have attempted up to three scored sequences with two scored results and so were not eligible for an ENTER, and
- Applicants with a similar configuration of scored VCE sequences who have qualified for the VCAL.
Prerequisites and selection
In light of the fact that some applicants were, in isolated cases, being advised inappropriately and inconsistently by institutions about the necessity of achieving pre-requisites, VTAC and institutions have confirmed the need for unambiguous advice about selection requirements to be available to, and applied in relation to, all applicants and, accordingly for pre-requisites, where stated, to be satisfied to enable an offer to be made. The policy confirmed by VTAC and institutions recognised that there were legitimate situations where this blanket policy position might legitimately be varied. This is reflected in the revised policy statement:
Pre-requisites at the stated level must be satisfied before an offer can be made except where,
- the required knowledge has otherwise been achieved
- Consideration of Disadvantage has been applied
- the applicant applied under a special entry scheme.
International Baccalaureate
The methodology for calculating the notional ENTER for the International Baccalaureate (IB) was reviewed in light of a recent South Australian study, the results of which showed variations between the States in the conversion of IB scores at the upper end of the scale.
The South Australian study had focused on the subsequent tertiary performance of both IB and standard year 12 applicants. However, studies undertaken at the University of Melbourne using a similar methodology revealed that IB students in Victoria were not systematically superior performers and that there was no indication of bias towards VCE students.
Given the limitations perceived in the South Australian study and the above findings, it was decided that first year university results did not constitute as good a common measure as the GAT which is the mechanism currently in use by VTAC to convert IB results to VCE scaled aggregates. Accordingly, it was agreed that no change be made to the Victorian methodology. Additional studies are to be undertaken at an appropriate future time. VTAC has agreed that an alternate methodology should not be considered until more complete trend data becomes available.
Scholastic Aptitude Tests
During the year VTAC became an agent for the administration of Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It has authorised Monash University, the institution designated to sign contracts on behalf of member institutions, to execute a contract with Educational Testing Services, Princeton, New Jersey. The tests will be targeted at providing an international credential for Victorian year 12 students as an alterative to the International Baccalaureate. It is likely to be of value also to students who wish to participate in exchange programs or undertake higher education in the United States. The SAT may also be used to assess applicants with alternative year 12 qualifications and 'mature age' applicants without formal qualifications.
Repeat penalty
In light of detailed research which revealed that the penalty for repeating subjects embedded in the ENTER calculation was proving no longer to be of real value, VTAC has agreed to remove the penalty with effect from the 2003/04 selection round. The most common reason for applicants to undertake repeat studies was found to be a desire for improvement in folio studies in order to strengthen claims to undertake an Art and Design course rather than a wish to achieve a higher overall ENTER score.