Subject Selection Evening Year 10 – 2015

Program Executive Principal: Wade Haynes Introduction to Senior Phase of Learning QCE Pathways Senior Education & Training Plan Senior Requirements Prerequisites Subject Selection

Key contacts Troy McMahon Deputy Principal Senior School tmcma43@eq.edu.au Emily Simons Deputy Principal, Year 9 (2014) esimo6@eq.edu.au Anna Dollman Head of Department Senior Schooling adoll10@eq.edu.au Michael Graves Guidance Officer mgrav1@eq.edu.au Nicole Collins ncoll1@eq.edu.au Wendy Williams Year 9 Coordinator 2014 wwill44@eq.edu.au Janice Head Deputy Principal Year 8 jhead14@eq.edu.au

Senior Phase of Learning Years 10, 11 and 12 Our goal is for each student to have a meaningful pathway and to establish the foundations for a successful future. We expect each student to achieve a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). Successful future – meaningful pathway.

Queensland Certificate of Education A minimum of 12 credits from core at Sound Achievement (SA) or better 8 credits from core, preparatory, enrichment or advanced at SA or better 3 subjects of learning over 4 semesters At least one semester of literacy and numeracy at SA QCE does not influence tertiary entrance Talk about subject changes here – if you have too many you can find yourself in strife.

Pathways at Brisbane State High ALL SENIOR STUDENTS GET A QCE Pathways: OP Sit QCS + 5 Authority subjects Can include a VET Selection Rank QTAC Selection Rank Recommended – VET Additional learning options: VET – school-based or external Certificate III, IV or Diploma School-based Apprenticeships & Traineeships OP: Most direct access to University and tertiary studies; generally more meaningful (opportunities) if…. VET Qual: offers access to TAFE, University, Further Study, Employment OP + VET: You need a minimum of 5 authority subjects to be OP eligible, so you can combine this with either a school-based certificate or a TAFE course, which gives you an additional qualification

OP

What is an OP? OP = Overall Position OP1 (highest) to OP25 (lowest) Achievement and Position are not the same thing. OP = Overall Position OP1 (highest) to OP25 (lowest) Students seeking an OP: Have a minimum of 20 semester units (5 Authority subjects x 4 semesters) Study a minimum of 3 subjects continuously through Years 11 & 12 Sit the Queensland Core Skills Test (QCS) You are selecting subjects for 2 years. Changing a subject does not mean it ‘doesn’t count’ An OP Indicates how well a student has done in comparison to all other OP-eligible students in Queensland (rank order) and is used for tertiary entrance purposes only. Students are placed in one of 25 bands To get an OP you must study a certain number of Authority subjects and satisfy other requirements including completion of Year 12 and the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test. The basic eligibility requirement is 20 semester units of credit in Authority subjects with at least three subjects taken for four semesters. Authority subjects are based on syllabuses that have been approved and issued by the QSA. Commonly students undertake 6 OP (Authority) subjects with the top 5 contributing to the OP.

How are OPs calculated? 5 Achievement bands: Achievement and Position are not the same thing. 5 Achievement bands: Very High Achievement (VHA) High Achievement (HA) Sound Achievement (SA) Limited Achievement (LA) Very Limited Achievement (VLA) Achievement bands separated into 10 rungs This represents a rank order for this subject You are selecting subjects for 2 years. Changing a subject does not mean it ‘doesn’t count’ Each student is rated within a band in each subject Very High Achievement (VHA) High Achievement (HA) Sound Achievement (SA) Limited Achievement (LA) Very Limited Achievement (VLA) Levels of Achievement are assigned by the school and moderated by a statewide panel.

Each student assigned a SAI (subject achievement indicator). Achievement and Position are not the same thing. Each student assigned a SAI (subject achievement indicator). Score between 400 and 200. SAIs show individual achievement compared with the achievement of other students in each subject. 400 You are selecting subjects for 2 years. Changing a subject does not mean it ‘doesn’t count’ The level of achievement is not the most important thing, you want to be as high as you possibly can be in comparison with others. 200

Scaling Achievement – Stage 1 Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3 Subject 4 Subject 5 Subject 6 Two stages of scaling then occur In school – QCAA uses QCS test group data to scale each subject and establish an overall ‘school ladder’ Statewide – QCAA uses QCS test data for the whole school to compare State High with all other schools and establish an overall ‘State ladder’. Your rank is given in a band from 1 – 25. QCS Subject Results Applied

Scaling Achievement – Stage 1 Whole of BSHS ladder

Scaling Achievement – Stage 2 School 1 School 2 School 3 School 4 School 5 School 6 QCS School Results Applied

Scaling Achievement – Stage 2 Cut-off applied OP Awarded Some students may be ranked very highly within their VHA band in every subject, while others may be at the fringe. QCS test performance can vary year to year. Subject group performance on QCS test can vary from year to year. Whole of Queensland ladder

OP Myths Myth 1: To get an OP1, it's better to study some subjects than others Myth 2: Students with 5 or more VHAs and an "A" on the QCS Test automatically get an OP1 Myth 3: Students with 5 SAIs of 400 will get an OP1 Myth 4: High achievers in a low-achieving group can't get a good OP 1 - All subjects are treated equally in the calculation of OPs. Any apparent inequality is the result of scaling, which takes into account the different overall capabilities of students in different subject groups and schools. To get a good OP, students must be ahead of strong competition. If the competition is not strong in some subjects, then a student needs to be a long way ahead of the other students to achieve a good OP. It is possible to obtain an OP1 from any combination of subjects. However, students need to perform much better than other students in subjects where the competition is weak. An OP1 student must perform at the level of the top 2% of students in the state. 2 - Levels of Achievement cover fairly broad ranges of achievement. Not all students awarded Very High Achievements (VHAs) are at the same standard.  Some students may be at the top of the VHA range, while others may be doing just well enough to get a VHA. In addition, Levels of Achievement in different subjects do not represent equivalent standards. To be awarded an OP1, students must be in the top 2% of all students in Queensland. There are many more students with 5 VHAs than there are OP1s. 3 - Not necessarily. In fact, usually not. An SAI of 400 only indicates that the student was the school's highest achieving student in that particular subject. This student may not be the best student overall in the school, nor among the top 2% of students in Queensland overall. 4 - A student who wants a good OP must demonstrate outstanding achievement. In a low-achieving group, this outstanding achievement would be reflected in a large gap between the SAI of that student and the SAIs of other students. 5 - The procedures followed for the calculation of OPs are exactly the same for students in every school. What a student needs to consider when comparing OPs is where they are placed, by their teachers, against what kind of competition. This applies whatever school a student attends. Students, not schools, are awarded OPs. However, schools are not random collections of students. The quality, application and performance of students is unevenly distributed, so different performances at different schools is to be expected. 6 - The QSA has special procedures in place for small groups and small schools to ensure that this doesn't occur. SAIs are assigned differently, and the scaling processes are adjusted to make sure that OPs reflect students' performances fairly. 7 - It is important to realise that the QCS Test results are used in the scaling procedures only to determine where the group fits on the baseline scale. What matters for the individual student are their SAIs. A student's individual QCS Test result contributes to the group results for each of their subject-groups and their school-group. QCS Test data are used to provide scaling parameters for different subject-groups and for the whole cohort of OP-eligible students at a student's school. The individual student's QCS Test result contributes to that group data. In determining the scaling parameters, the QSA checks to see whether any student has QCS Test results which seem quite different from their within-school performance - as might be the case if a high-achieving student were sick on one or both days of the QCS Test and did not perform as well as expected. The contribution of the QCS Test data of these students is down-weighted so that these unusual results will not distort the group's mean and spread on the test.

Tertiary Entrance For OP students, your OP is converted to a selection rank OR A rank score is calculated using weightings developed by QTAC – Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre Qualification Selection Rank OP ‘equivalent’ Certificate III 68 15/16 Certificate IV 72 12/13 Diploma 82 8/9 AMEB Grade 7/8 84 If your R6 data says you are not well positioned in your group this may be a good option. Check QTAC knows about any additional qualifications Not all institutions participating In QTAC accept these schedules in the same way.

www.qcaa.qld.edu.au For further information, visit the QCAA website

Senior requirements SET Plans Post compulsory Meaningful pathways Attendance Work completion Participation Short Course in Careers (Year 10 ARC) QCS prep is for all OP students Tutorial groups are for students on a selection rank pathway

Year 10 students: Must study English OR English Literature OR English Communication Must study either Prep Mathematics B or Prep Mathematics A or Fast Track Maths (preselected students only) Must study Science in BOTH semesters At least two subjects must be selected from Humanities (SOSE, History, Geography) Explain what the Humanities includes: Legal, Philosophy, Geography, Social & Community Studies, the Histories

Year 10 students: Choose an additional FOUR electives (undertake TWO per semester) No more than TWO electives can be chosen from HPE Some Unit 2 subjects require the introductory subject to be completed in first Semester (see Senior Course Guide) Recommended: Some electives, such as Languages, should be taken for TWO semesters if you wish to continue this subject in years 11 & 12 Choose an additional THREE electives, listed in order of preference (at least one Humanities) QCS prep is for all OP students Tutorial groups are for students on a selection rank pathway

Prerequisites for Senior BSHS Website | Our School | Policies & Reports | Senior Schooling Policy Enabling successful pathways Ensure you check all prerequisites Listed in the Senior Course Guide http://brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au/year-10-curriculum Prerequisites are a success marker, which indicates your ability to successfully undertake a given subject As outlined through assemblies and on previous information nights, students need to have meet prerequisites in Semester 1 in order to gain entry into some subjects at SET Plan. A full list of prerequisites is in the Senior Course Guide and on the school’s website.

Subject Selection Guidelines: Summary BSHS Website | Learning | Curriculum | Year 10 Be aware of the school prerequisites for senior subjects Consider prerequisites for possible university courses Choose subjects in which you have been successful and have an interest in pursuing in year 11 & 12 Senior Course Guide and Senior Schooling Policy available now: http://brisbaneshs.eq.edu.au/year-10-curriculum Subject selections will open from Friday 29th August on OneSchool and close on Friday 5th September Selections are completed online (OneSchool)