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Section 1: Victorian Senior Secondary Certificate Participation and Completions

Premier’s Year 12 Attainment Target
Outcomes of VCE Graded Assessment 2004
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In 2004 there were two certificates of senior secondary education in Victoria, the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL).

Victoria Certificate of Education
VCE completion is calculated on the basis of satisfactory completion of units. Refer to the VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook 2004 for the regulations applying in 2004.

Table 1.1 VCE Participation and Completion 2004

	2003	2004
All Students:
Eligible to complete the VCE 1	50,276	4,9741
Students satisfactorily completing VCE 2	47,585	48,134
Percentage 3	94.6	96.8
Females
Eligible to complete the VCE 1	26,794	26,498
Students satisfactorily completing VCE 2	25,529	25,771
Percentage 3	95.3	97.3
Males
Eligible to complete the VCE (1)	23,482	23,243
Students satisfactorily completing VCE (2)	22,056	22,363
Percentage (3)	93.9	96.2

These figures are derived from VCAA information in December, Year 12 enrolments in Victorian schools in February 2004 were 52,469 and in August 2004 were 50,758.
Students who have successfully achieved their VCE in previous years have been removed from both eligible and completing totals.
This figure is not an indicator of attainment of the Premier's target, see below:

Table 1.2 Unit Results by Gender and Level, 2004

		Unit 1	Unit 2
	n	Enrol	S	S%	Enrol	S	S%
Male	n	176,968	164,089	92.7	166,510	154,013	92.5
	%	48.8	48.3		48.5	47.9
Female	n	185,420	175,698	94.8	176,611	167,311	94.7
	%	51.2	51.7		51.5	52.1
Total		362,388	339,787	93.8	343,121	321,324	93.6
		Unit 3			Unit 4
		Enrol	S	S%	Enrol	S	S%
Male	n	130,605	127,315	97.5	126,119	123,349	97.8
	%	46.8	46.6		46.7	46.5
Female	n	148,406	145,685	98.2	144,124	141,941	98.5
	%	53.2	53.4		53.3	53.5
Total		279,011	273,000	97.8	270,243	265,290	98.2

From this table there were a total of 1,254,763 unit enrolments in 2004, of these 95.6% were successful. Note that the participation of those students who withdrew during the year without an outcome recorded against their unit enrolments were removed from the dataset. Section 2 provides more detailed information of unit participation and completions by study and sequence.

Premier’s Year 12 Attainment Target

Table 1. 7 Successful Completions of VCE by Age at 30 June, 1995–2004
Table 1. 8 VCE Completion Rates for 19 year olds, 1998-2004
Figure 1.2 VCE Completions for 19 year olds, 1998-2004

In October 2000, the Victorian Government set three benchmark targets for education and training, including a target for levels of educational achievement of young Victorians:

‘By 2010 90% of young people in Victoria will complete Year 12 or its equivalent.’

For the purposes of monitoring progress towards this goal, young people have been defined as 19 year olds. This is consistent with decisions endorsed by MCEETYA for national reporting of similar measures. The VCE is the most popular Year 12 qualification. The table below provides information about the completion of the VCE. These figures under report year 12 or equivalent completions, completions of other qualifications such as VCAL, International Baccalaureate and Vocational Education and Training certificates should be added for a full picture.

From the tables below it may be observed that the number of completers is increasing, 2004 total is down marginally from 2002 high. The completions of 18 and 19 year olds is increasing, but the completions of the over 19 year olds (who don’t contribute to the completion indicator) is decreasing.

Table 1. 7 Successful Completions of VCE by Age at 30 June, 1995–2004

Year	Under 16	16 Years	17 Years	18 Years	19 Years	Over 19*	Total
1995	14	774	33,054	6,275	845	1381	42,343
1996	16	686	33,248	6,539	834	1154	42,477
1997	25	667	33,340	6,953	811	1049	42,845
1998	23	663	33,318	7,298	793	781	42,876
1999	23	621	33,433	8,200	786	733	43,796
2000	25	618	33,438	8,886	854	601	44,422
2001	23	747	34,333	9,626	1028	665	46,442
2002	24	687	34,952	10,214	1088	661	47,626
2003	25	705	34,342	10,608	1216	689	47,585
2004	16	660	33,752	10,784	1401	605	47,218

Notes:

Students who have already completed the VCE successfully in a previous year are excluded.
* Students who are over 19 years old are adult VCE students.

Table 1. 8 VCE Completion Rates for 19 year olds, 1998-2004

Year	19 year olds who have successfully completed	Target Population *	VCE Completion Rate (Percentage)
1998	41,768	62,433	66.9
1999	42,110	61,469	68.5
2000	43,039	62,110	69.3
2001	44,010	62,529	70.4
2002	44,796	63,774	70.2
2003	46,404	64,716	71.7
2004	47,733	65,528	72.8

Note: * Source Australian Bureau of Statistics, revised in 2003.

Figure 1.2 VCE Completions for 19 year olds, 1998-2004

The number of young people aged 19 on 30 June each year who had successfully completed VCE has risen from 41,786 in 1999 to 47,733 in 2004. The percentage of young people aged 19 on 30 June each year who had successfully completed VCE has risen from 66.9% in 1999 to 72.8% in 2004, this is an increase of 5.9 percentage points.

Outcomes of VCE Graded Assessment 2004

Grades
Table 1.3: Aggregate Grade Distribution: All Graded Assessments, All Students, 2004
Figure 1.1: Grade Distribution: All Graded Assessments, 2004

Grades

Students undertaking Units 3 and 4 sequences may participate in graded assessment. The outcomes of each graded assessment are shown in Section 3 of this publication. In summary, the most awarded grade in 2004 was an A. The median grade was a B, with 59.2% of grades at a B or higher.

Table 1.3: Aggregate Grade Distribution: All Graded Assessments, All Students, 2004

Grade	UG	E	E+	D	D+	C
N	6,626	13,739	24,366	38,605	57,563	80,502
%e	0.8	1.7	3.1	4.9	7.3	10.2
Grade	C+	B	B+	A	A+	All
N	99,923	110,398	120,980	126,364	108,559	787,625
%e	12.7	14.0	15.4	16.0	13.8	100.0