Year 12 students to be tested on core skills

About 30,000 students will sit the 2008 Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test around the state this week.

Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said the test would be completed over two days, on 2 and 3 September, and would involve a writing task, short response, and two multiple-choice papers.

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

The Group QCS Test results create 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 Statements 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.

Media contact: Marnie Stitz on 3237 1000 or 0419 734 985