YEAR 12 STUDENTS TO BE TESTED ON CORE SKILLS

About 30,000 students are sitting the 2007 Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test this week.

Students will sit four test papers made up of a writing task, short response, and two multiple choice papers over tomorrow and Wednesday (4 and 5 September).

The QCS tests 49 elements common to the Queensland senior curriculum including spelling, punctuation and grammar, calculating, analysing and hypothesising.

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said group QCS Test results provided data used to calculate students’ Overall Positions (OPs) and Field Positions (FPs) for tertiary entrance.

“This is an opportunity for all Year 12 students to demonstrate their broad knowledge from their senior schooling,” Mr Welford said.

“In each of the papers, students respond to materials such as prose passages, poetry, graphs, tables, mathematical and scientific data and reproductions of works of art.”

Mr Welford said the best preparation for the test occurred through the subjects students studied at school.

“The test is an opportunity for all Year 12 students, whether they are OP-eligible or not, to demonstrate the range of their achievements in the common curriculum elements that underscore the senior phase of learning,” he said.

“Most students will have also completed practice tests over recent weeks at their schools and have a good idea of what to expect.

“I know it can be a stressful time for many students and I want to extend my support and wish everyone good luck.”

Students will receive their QCS Test results, which are graded from A to E, on Senior Certificates in December.

To gain an OP, a student must study 20 semester units of credit in Queensland Studies Authority subjects with at least three subjects taken for four semesters. Students must also sit for the QCS Test and complete Year 12.