ATAR course written examinations school copy of Question/Answer booklet

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are permitted one copy of an ATAR course written examination Question/Answer booklet that has been sat by their students. To avoid disruption to candidates, the Question/Answer booklet/s will be delivered to the school reception/administration area approximately one hour after the start of the examination working time or after the examination is completed, depending on Supervisor availability.

School staff must not enter or approach the examination room to request a copy of the Question/Answer booklet.

Each school must collect the copy from the reception of the examination centre at which their students are sitting the examination.

Please note for Question/Answer booklet/s:

• Large candidature examinations, such as English – often many teachers are delivering the course at a school; however, only one copy of the Question/Answer booklet is provided to each school.
• Language courses – candidates are often clustered at major examination centres for these courses. Each school is entitled to one copy of the Question/Answer booklet left with the school reception/administration.

Due to copyright provisions, spare copies of the Question/Answer booklet and inserts are not able to be provided to the school. For examinations with an aural component, no copies of the recording are provided to schools.

Teachers at practical examination venues

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

All ATAR course examinations with a practical component have an ATAR course practical requirement document that provides general advice to teachers, candidates and parents about the conduct of the practical examination.

It is essential that teachers understand that this document contains information relevant to them.

Attention is drawn to the ‘Examination procedure’ section of every ATAR course practical requirement document that states the following:

‘The candidate must not have contact with candidates waiting to be examined, teachers or other parties who are seeking information about the examination until all the examinations have concluded. Failure to do so may result in a breach of examination rules.’

Teachers are reminded to not place a candidate in a situation that may result in a breach of examination rules and may negatively impact on the student’s achievement in their practical examinations.

2024 Interstate Languages ATAR course examinations

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

Students enrolled in interstate language ATAR courses should refer to the course materials available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/languages/interstate-languages.

Interstate Languages practical (oral) examinations

The Indonesian: First language ATAR course has no practical (oral) examination.

The Chinese: Background Language and Japanese: Background ATAR course examinations have a practical (oral) examination that requires candidates to complete and submit a Personal Investigation – Interview Sheet by 4.00 pm Friday, 23 August 2024. The interview sheet is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/983711/Personal-Investigation_-Interview-Sheet.PDF. Candidates may take their interview sheet to their practical (oral) examination and note that this can only be used during preparation time.

The Hungarian, Modern Greek, Khmer, Polish and Spanish ATAR course examinations have a practical (oral) examination that requires candidates to complete and submit an In-depth study outline by
4.00 pm Monday, 16 September 2024. The study outline is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/983710/In-depth-study_outline.PDF.

The Arabic and Vietnamese ATAR course examinations have a practical (oral) examination that requires candidates to complete and submit a Supporting visual material document by 4.00 pm Monday, 16 September 2024. The visual material document is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/983712/Supporting-visual-material-2024.PDF. Candidates must take their supporting visual material to their practical oral examination.

All other interstate language ATAR course examinations do not require the completion or submission of documents prior to the practical oral examination.

Interstate Languages ATAR course practical (oral) examinations will be conducted over the months of September to November 2024.

Interstate Languages written examinations

The 2024 Year 12 ATAR course written examinations timetable provides the date and time for the conduct of all written ATAR course examinations. The timetable can be downloaded from https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/examinations/examination-timetables.

Personalised practical and written examinations timetables

From Tuesday, 3 September 2024, candidates will be able to download a copy of their Personalised practical examinations timetable and Personalised written examinations timetable from https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au showing the date, time and location of each examination in which they are enrolled.

Applications for Chief Supervisor and Supervisors for 2024 ATAR course written examinations

Contact
Roslyn Parnham (08) 9273 6308
Roslyn.parnham@scsa.wa.edu.au

Examination Officer (08) 9273 6767
examsupervisors@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) is seeking suitable and reliable people to fulfil the positions of Chief Supervisor and Supervisor for the 2024 ATAR course written examinations. The ATAR course written examinations will be conducted from Monday, 28 October to Friday, 15 November 2024.

A Chief Supervisor needs to demonstrate accuracy and attention to detail and ensure examinations are conducted fairly and in accordance with the Authority policies and procedures. Strong leadership and organisation skills are essential in this role in order to direct, support and ensure the integrity and security of the examination process.

Supervisor’s work under the supervision of the Chief Supervisor and support them with the set-up of examination centres and day-to-day operation of examinations, ensuring a high standard of service is provided to candidates undertaking the ATAR course examinations.

For information regarding Chief Supervisor and Supervisor applications for the 2024 ATAR course written examinations please refer to:

https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/about-us/employment

Chief Supervisor applications close on Friday, 2 August 2024

Supervisor applications close Monday, 19 August 2024

Extranet password strengthening

Contact
Erin Manuel (08) 9273 6797
erin.manuel@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is in the process of strengthening Extranet passwords.

New Extranet accounts will require passwords to be a minimum of 8 characters using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, at least one number and one punctuation character.

From now until the end of the year, existing Extranet account holders will be prompted to update their Extranet account passwords to comply with the new requirements.

Contact ExtranetHelp@scsa.wa.edu.au for assistance.

2024 Student enrolments in VET units of competency and endorsed programs

Contact
Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded that Year 10 and Year 11 student enrolments in vocational education and training (VET) and Year 10 to Year 12 student enrolments in endorsed programs must be uploaded into the Student Information Records System (SIRS) as soon as possible, but not later than Thursday, 8 August 2024.

It is important that schools work closely with registered training organisations (RTOs) to obtain the correct information relating to their students’ enrolments in units of competency and qualifications. It is strongly recommended that schools acquire the appropriate documentation from the RTO to confirm enrolments before submitting the data to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority). This will ensure that accurate information is uploaded in SIRS to avoid issues at the time of providing student achievement reports.

Provision of VET and endorsed program enrolments

The following sections of the Data Procedures Manual 2024 provide instructions relating to required actions (extracting data of students enrolled in VET units of competency, uploading the enrolments to SIRS and verifying these enrolments in SIRS):

This information is available on the Authority website at:
https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/data-procedures-manual.

It is important to note:

• The VET Unique Student Identifier (USI) is optional in the VET enrolment file (ENVET). However, it is required for units of competency and qualifications that contribute towards meeting the WACE requirements when reporting achievements through the RSVET and RSQUAL. If assistance is required regarding the USI, schools are advised to contact the USI Office on 1300 857 536 or visit their website at https://www.usi.gov.au/students.
• Only DTWD funded VET skill sets can be uploaded to SIRS. The inclusion of VET USI is optional for VET skill sets enrolments but is a requirement for recording of VET skill sets and related units of competency on the Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement. VET skill sets do not contribute to the achievement of the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).
• Schools delivering VET that is integrated into a VET industry specific course must enrol the students in the units of competency as VET integrated in the ENVET file. Students who meet VET industry specific course requirements can achieve course unit credit towards the WACE. Further information relating to course credit allocation and WACE credit allocation can be found at:
  https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/vet/vet-industry-specific.

Reminder – Final dates for Year 12 students to withdraw from courses, 2024

Contact
Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded of the final dates to withdraw Year 12 students from courses:

• Monday, 5 August 2024 – final date for withdrawing students from ATAR courses that do not have a practical examination component. No changes will be made to student enrolments in these courses after this date.
• Monday, 5 August 2024 – final date for withdrawing students from General, Foundation, Preliminary and vocational education and training (VET) industry specific courses. No changes will be made to student enrolments in these courses after this date.

Withdrawing from a course is a significant decision; therefore, it is strongly encouraged that students and schools use the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) WACE Checker to test the possible impact of their decision. The WACE Checker is a useful tool that allows the student to determine if any changes made to their course enrolments meet the breadth and depth requirements to achieve the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE). The checker is available on the Authority website at https://wacechecker.scsa.wa.edu.au/.

Schools should encourage their Year 12 students to visit the Authority website at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/blog and read the blog titled “Are you considering withdrawing from a course?”.

Schools are reminded that students who are enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course must sit the external examination in that course. For ATAR courses with a practical component, students must sit both the written and practical examinations. Students who do not sit an ATAR course examination and do not have an approved sickness/misadventure application for that course, will not have the grades for the pair of units completed in that year contribute to the calculation of the WACE.

To summarise the above, it is vital that students understand the importance of making changes to their course units, and/or not appearing for the ATAR course examination, which directly impacts on achievement of their WACE.

Online Student Declaration and Permission

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
Kerry.Tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

This is a friendly reminder that the completion date for the online Student Declaration and Permission is Thursday, 22 August 2024.

Schools are requested to ensure the following students complete the submission process by the deadline:

• all Year 12 students
• Year 11 students who are studying Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) Units 3 and 4 and sitting the 2024 ATAR course examinations.

Students may find the following at https://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal

• how to log in to the student portal
• Student login and navigation guide
• student Portal Helpdesk.

Information for teachers can be found at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/the-wace/student-declaration.

Failure to complete the submission process may impact schools with students who:

• could win an award (including students who are not sitting ATAR course examinations) and who have not indicated their preference to have/not have their name published in the media or on our website
• are unaware of the requirements for achieving the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).

Schools can monitor in SIRS which students have completed the online Student Declaration and Permission by generating the Report CSE058 – Student Release Choices by Provider. The pathway to the report is: Reports > Other reports > Report type: Students, Report: CSE058.

Please advise students about the purpose of the Student Declaration and Permission and encourage them to discuss this with their parents/guardians/carers prior to completion.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority appreciates your assistance in obtaining this important information.

Consequences of not sitting ATAR course examinations in 2024

Contact
Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded that students who are enrolled in a Year 12 Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) course pair of units are required to sit the ATAR course examination. There are both written and practical examinations for some ATAR courses.

Students who do not sit an ATAR course examination, and do not have an approved sickness/misadventure application for that course, will not have the grades for the pair of units completed in that year contribute to the calculation of the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).

This means, the grades for the ATAR Year 12 course will not contribute to the:

• completion of a minimum of 20 units, including 10 Year 12 units
• completion of at least one pair of Year 12 units from an English course (if the ATAR Year 12 course was either English, Literature or English as an Additional Language or Dialect)
• completion of one pair of Year 12 units from List A (arts/languages/social sciences) or List B (mathematics/science/technology) – depending on the list of the ATAR Year 12 course
• achievement of at least 14 C grades or higher, including at least six C grades in Year 12 units
• completion of at least four Year 12 ATAR courses.

Students who do not sit the ATAR course examination will not have a course mark or grade recorded on their Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA), nor will they receive an ATAR course report.

Consequently, a student may not meet the requirements to receive the WACE.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority advises consultation with students who may be enrolled in ATAR course/s but who are not requiring an ATAR to confirm that they must sit the examination for that course for it to contribute to their WACE.

Collection of mobile phone numbers for Year 12 and Year 11 students sitting ATAR course examinations

Contact
Daniel Creusot (08) 9273 6343
Daniel.Creusot@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) requests that Year 12 and Year 11 students sitting Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) course examinations provide their mobile phone numbers via the student portal: https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au.

Should the Authority need to contact students during the ATAR examination period to advise about any changes to the examination timetable/s and/or venue/s, this will be done via a bulk Short Message Service (SMS).

To log in to the student portal, students will need their eight-digit Western Australian student number (WASN). The Student login and navigation guide, which is available on the student portal section of the Authority website https://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal, will help students do this.

When students log in to the student portal to download their personalised examination timetables for the written and practical ATAR course examinations, they will be prompted to provide a mobile number. While this step is not compulsory, the Authority encourages students to enter a mobile number.

Students can only update their mobile numbers in the student portal. The updating of students’ mobile numbers cannot be done via the Student Information Records System (SIRS).

Nominations open for the 2024 Awards for Outstanding Achievement in VET

Contact
Arti Dogra (08) 9273 6751
awards@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools with Year 12 students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in a Certificate II or higher vocational education and training (VET) qualification are encouraged to nominate these students for the 2024 Awards for Outstanding Achievement in VET. Awards are available for nine industry areas, with the top student in each industry area eligible to be awarded the Beazley Medal: VET winner.

Further information about the 2024 Awards for Outstanding Achievement in VET and eligibility criteria can be found in the following brochure: VET-Awards-Outstanding-achievement-2024.PDF (scsa.wa.edu.au).

The 2024 VET Awards Nomination Kit which includes information on how to nominate a student can be found via the following link: VET_Awards_Nomination_Kit_2024.PDF (scsa.wa.edu.au).

Nominations are open from Friday, 28 June 2024 and close at 4.30 pm on Monday, 26 August 2024.