Year 12 students reach Queensland Core Skills Test milestone

Thousands of Year 12 students will reach an important milestone this week when they do the annual Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test.

Acting Education Minister, Grace Grace, said approximately 30,000 students would do four test papers over Tuesday and Wednesday — a Writing Task, two Multiple Choice papers and a Short Response paper.

“The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority uses the test results to compare the achievements of students studying different subjects at different schools,” Ms Grace said.

“A student gets the best OP by performing as well as they can in their subject assessments throughout Year 12.

“It is possible to achieve a high OP with any combination of subjects.

“Sitting the QCS Test is also valuable for students who may not be eligible for an OP. A grade of ‘C’ or above will ensure they meet the literacy and numeracy requirements for the Queensland Certificate of Education.”

Ms Grace said the test assessed achievement in skills that are common across the curriculum.

“Each test paper has questions related to materials, such as poetry, prose, graphs, tables, mathematical and scientific data, and works of art,” she said.

“The questions encourage students to demonstrate skills, such as using correct spelling, punctuation and grammar, hypothesising, analysing, and calculating with or without a calculator.

“Students would have completed practice tests, which give them a good idea of what to expect.

“I wish them well in their tests this week.”

The final QCS Test would be held in 2019. A new system of senior assessment will commence for students entering Year 11 in 2019.

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will replace the OP from 2020.

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