Academic board
May 2006
by Peter Cardwell
South Australian Certificate of Education review
Prof Alan Reid gave a special presentation on the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Review.
The review report was released in 2006 and followed wide ranging consultation involving educators, all education sectors, parents, employers, unions, politicians, community members and young people. During the consultations the review panel found widespread community support for fundamental reform to the SACE and senior secondary education. More than 80 per cent of secondary school principals and deputy principals also strongly support the proposed new SACE.
Only 55 per cent of South Australian students achieve the SACE each year. In addition, young people in the state are generally less qualified than their counterparts in other states, and a disproportionate number of early school leavers come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
There is a general perception that university pathways are more highly valued than other non-university pathways, and that what students are taught is driven by university selection requirements. However, analysis of the statistics shows that in any year, fewer than 25 per cent of SACE students go on to university.
The review recommends that the current SACE be replaced by a single, new qualification - a "new SACE", as part of a broad education and training system, and not seen as predominantly a school-based experience.
The new qualification would be significantly different, with a much simpler set of requirements than the current SACE providing for greater flexibility in the design and delivery of the curriculum to increase accessibility and inclusiveness. The new SACE would be based on credit points and "Capabilities" (not unlike UniSA’s Graduate Qualities).
The new SACE "Capabilities" would form the foundation of curriculum, assessment and teaching. Five broad capabilities are proposed as important to the development of knowledge, skills and attributes including communication, civic participation, health, wellbeing and personal development, work and knowledge of work.
The review proposes that there would be in future two core learning units, a Personal Learning Plan at Stage 1, and a Personal Learning Plan at Stage 2, with these units generally taken in Year 10 and Year 12 respectively. This would provide two formal opportunities in the curriculum where students can think about their futures, monitor their progress and amend their plans.
Extended Learning Initiatives would be undertaken at Stage 1 and Stage 2 levels, and involve substantial units of study that would engage the student in an in-depth investigation of particular topics. They may be undertaken in workplaces or the community and may involve the development of practical ideas or products. The outcome could, for example, be a performance or demonstration, an artefact, a product, report or portfolio.
In addition, it is proposed that students undertake an Approved Learning Program totalling 160 credit points. Students would be able to construct an Approved Learning Program from an array of learning units, which might be based on learning unit frameworks developed or commissioned by the SACE Authority, accredited learning units developed by schools, accredited programs of vocational education or training, activities undertaken outside the formally accredited curriculum or even curriculum developed outside of the state as part of an equivalent senior secondary qualification.
A number of reforms to assessment and reporting within the SACE are proposed. Performance standards would be developed for each learning unit. These standards would enable teachers to make fundamental decisions about whether or not students have met the agreed standard on the basis of the evidence they have about a student's learning as a whole. At Stage 2, 70 per cent of the assessment weighting would be teacher moderated and 30 per cent would be external assessment.
The review proposals for the new SACE aim to ensure that literacy and numeracy continue to be developed throughout a student’s senior secondary education, through a rigorous and systematic set of expectations and required processes. The review recommends that all students undertake a diagnostic assessment of their literacy and numeracy skills as part of each student's Personal Learning Plan in Year 10. The results would be used to map out what is needed to help students to develop their literacy and numeracy skills over their SACE studies. The idea of a single compulsory English subject at Stage 2 was rejected.
The SACE Review proposes significant changes to the senior secondary school certificate system and notes that teachers will play a critical role in implementing the reform proposals. It is acknowledged that significant resources will be needed for its successful implementation. In concluding, Prof Reid said that it was his belief that the new SACE would better prepare senior secondary school students for university study than the existing structure.