The Victorian Certificate of Education (often abbreviated VCE) is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria as well as in some international schools in China, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
About 67% of all 19-year-olds in Victoria had completed the VCE in 2020.
Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but can be spread over a longer period in some cases.
The VCE was established as a pilot project in 1987. The earlier Higher School Certificate (HSC) was abolished in 1992.
Delivery of the VCE Vocational Major, an "applied learning" program within the VCE, began in 2023.
Structure
The Victorian Certificate of Education is generally taught in years 11 and 12 of secondary education in Victoria; but some students are able to start their VCE studies in year 10 or earlier if the school or institution allows it.
All VCE studies are organised into units. VCE subjects typically consist of four units with each unit covering one semester of study. Each unit comprises a set number of outcomes (usually two or three); an outcome describes the knowledge and skills that a student should demonstrate by the time the student has completed the unit. Subject choice depends on each individual school. Units 3/4 of a subject must be studied in sequential order, whereas units 1/2 can be mixed and matched. Students are not required to complete all the units of a subject as part of the VCE course, meaning they are able to change subject choice between years 11 and 12.
On completing a unit, a student receives either a 'satisfactory' (S) or 'non-satisfactory' (N) result. If a student does not intend to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), a 'satisfactory' result is all that is required to graduate with the VCE.
To gain an ATAR a student must satisfactorily complete three units of any subject in the English field (at least one English field subject is compulsory) and twelve units in any other subjects.
Assessment
VCE studies are assessed both internally (in school) and externally (through the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). During units 1/2 all assessment is internal, while in units 3/4 assessment is conducted both internally and externally.
VCE Vocational Major units are only assessed internally.
Internal assessment
Internal assessment is conducted via "school assessed coursework" (SACs) and "school assessed tasks" (SATs).
"School assessed coursework" (SACs) are the primary avenue of internal assessment, with assessment in every VCE study consisting of at least one SAC. SACs are tasks that are written by the school and must be done primarily in class time; they can include essays, reports, tests, and case studies. Some studies in the visual arts and technology areas are also assessed via "school assessed tasks" (SATs). SATs are generally practical tasks that are examined in school. Both SACs and SATs are scaled by VCAA against external assessment; this is to eliminate any cheating or variances in task difficulty.
External assessment
External assessment is conducted in the form of examinations set by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority for units 3/4 studies. As of 2013, only the General Achievement Test (GAT) will be examined in June, with all subjects now only having one external assessment with the exceptions of mathematics subjects, LOTE studies, which consist of both a written and oral external test, performance studies, which consist of both a written external test and a performance, and Extended Investigations, which consist of an oral presentation and a Critical Thinking Test. All examinations except the Critical Thinking Test for Extended Investigation and the GAT are held in late October and most of November.
Subjects in the LOTE field (languages other than English) are also assessed in the form of oral examinations. Subjects in the Dance, Drama/Theatre Studies and Music fields, as well as Extended Investigations, are assessed by a performance for a VCAA panel of examiners as part of their external assessment. All performance-based external assessments (Oral Examinations and Music Performances) are typically held in early October.
General Achievement Test (GAT)