VCAA

Satisfactory completion of VCE and VPC

VCE

To get your VCE you need to satisfactorily complete at least 16 units.

Out of these 16 units, at least three must be from the English group listed below including a Unit 3-4 sequence.

The English group consists of Foundation English (Units 1 and 2), English (Units 1-4), Bridging English as an Additional Language (Units 1-2), English as an Additional Language (Units 3-4), English Language (Units 1-4) and Literature (Units 1-4).

You also need to complete three other sequences of Units 3 and 4 studies. These can be VCE studies and/or VCE VET programs.

To calculate an ATAR, VTAC requires:

  • satisfactory completion of both Units 3 and 4 of an English group study
  • study scores for the English group study
  • three other Unit 3-4 sequences in your VCE program.

VCE VM

To be eligible to receive the VCE VM, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 16 units, including: 

  • 3 VCE VM Literacy or VCE English units (including a Unit 3-4 sequence) 
  • 2 VCE VM Numeracy or VCE Mathematics units 
  • 2 VCE VM Work Related Skills units 
  • 2 VCE VM Personal Development Skills units 
  • 2 VET credits at Certificate II level or above (180 nominal hours) 

You also need to complete three other sequences of Units 3 and 4 studies. These can be VCE, VCE VM studies and/or VCE VET programs.

VPC

The VPC is a foundation secondary qualification, while the VPC is not a senior secondary qualification, it can be a pathway to the VCE.

To get your VPC you need to successfully complete a learning program that contains at least 12 credits (units).

  • This program must include: at least two units of VPC Literacy (or units from the VCE English group including VCE Vocational Major Literacy)
  • at least two units of VPC Numeracy (or units from the VCE Mathematics group including VCE Vocational Major Numeracy)
  • at least two VPC Personal Development Skills units
  • at least two VPC Work Related Skills units.

Your VPC program can include units from VCE studies, VCE Vocational Major studies, and VET units of competency. VPC students can receive VET credit for 90 nominal hours at the Certificate 1 or above level and receive structured workplace learning recognition. Many students will undertake more than 12 units over the VPC.

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VCE Baccalaureate

The VCE Baccalaureate is an additional form of recognition for students who successfully meet the demands of studying a higher-level mathematics subject and a language in their VCE program.

You will receive the VCE Baccalaureate if you satisfactorily completed the VCE and received a study score for each prescribed study component.

Your VCE program of study must have included:

  • a Unit 3-4 sequence in English, Literature or English Language with a study score of 30 or above; or a Unit 3-4 sequence in English as an Additional Language (EAL) with a study score of 33 or above
  • a Unit 3-4 sequence in either Mathematical Methods or Specialist Mathematics
  • a Unit 3-4 sequence in a VCE Languages study
  • at least two other Unit 3-4 sequences.

Students who achieve the VCE Baccalaureate will receive a VCE Baccalaureate certificate instead of a VCE certificate. Their VCE Statement of Results will also indicate that they have met the requirements of the VCE Baccalaureate.

The VCE Baccalaureate does not confer any form of bonus in the calculation of a student’s ATAR.

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Your results package - VCE

WHAT THE VCAA WILL SEND TO YOU

On Thursday 12 December 2024 you will have access to your final results via registered email, the VCE Results and ATAR app or online at resultsandatar.vic.edu.au.

A results package will also be delivered to you in the mail from Thursday 12 December 2024.

The package will contain a:

  • Statement of Results, which lists:
    • all Units 1 and 2 and Units 3 and 4 studies attempted
    • the unit results (S or N)
    • school-based assessment grades
    • school-assessed task grades (where relevant)
    • examination grades
    • study scores
  • General Achievement Test (GAT) statement, which shows your GAT results, including whether you have met new standards for literacy. If you did not sit the GAT or were granted exemption, you will not receive this statement
  • letter signed by the Chair of the VCAA
  • letter advising the outcome of any Derived Examination Score (DES) applications, if applicable
  • Statement of Marks/Inspection of Examination Response Materials application form
  • Statement of Results information brochure
  • VCE VET or VET/FE Statement of Results if you have satisfactorily completed units of competence in a VCE VET program, a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship or a VET/Further Education (FE) certificate.

You will not receive your Victorian Certificate of Education, VCE Baccalaureate or VCE Vocational Major in the mail. These certificates are sent to your school for distribution.

VET certificates are not sent by the VCAA. Speak to your school or registered training organisation to obtain your certificate.

WHAT THE VCAA WILL SEND TO YOUR SCHOOL

Schools will receive a package that contains:

  • Statements of Results for all students only studying Units 1 and 2 studies
  • the certificates for all students who have successfully fulfilled the requirements of their VCE, VCE VMor VCE Baccalaureate.

Ask your school for your certificate.

Students in Year 11 who have completed one or more units at Units 3 and 4 levels will not receive a Victorian Certificate of Education until they have completed the minimum requirements for the VCE.

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Your results package - VPC

WHAT THE VCAA WILL SEND TO YOU

If you have results in a scored study, such as a VCE Units 3 and 4 or VCE (VET) study, you will have access to your final results via registered email, the VCE Results and ATAR app or online at resultsandatar.vic.edu.au. from 7.00am Thursday 12 December 2024.

A results package will also be delivered to you in the mail from Thursday 12 December 2024.

The package will contain a:

  • Statement of Results, which lists VCAL/VPC and VCE unit results
  • General Achievement Test (GAT) statement, which shows your GAT results, including whether you have met new standards for literacy. If you did not sit the GAT or were granted authorised absence, you will not receive this statement
  • letter signed by the Chair of the VCAA
  • VCE VET or VET/Further Education (FE) Statement of Results if you have satisfactorily completed units of competency in a VCE VET program, a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship or a VET/FE certificate
  • Statement of Results information brochure letter advising the outcome of any DES applications, if applicable
  • Statement of Marks/Inspection of Examination Response Materials application form, if applicable.

You will not receive your Victorian Pathways Certificate in the mail. This is sent to your school for distribution.

VET Certificates are not sent out by the VCAA. Speak to your school or Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to obtain your certificate.

WHAT THE VCAA WILL SEND TO YOUR SCHOOL

Schools will receive a package that contains:

  • Statements of Results for VPC students who have not undertaken scored assessment
  • certificates for all students who have successfully completed their VPC.

Ask your school for your certificate.

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Vocational Education and Training (VET) Results

RESULTS AND CERTIFICATES

If you undertook a VCE VET program, a VET qualification or apprenticeship or traineeship as part of your VCE or VCAL, you'll receive your VET Statement of Results in the mail from Thursday 11 December 2024.

VET certificates are not sent out by the VCAA. Speak to your school or registered training organisation (RTO) for your certificate.

BLOCK CREDIT

If you have undertaken VET or Further Education (FE) qualifications that aren’t on the approved list of VCE VET programs and school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, you may have received credit towards your VCE. This credit is called Block Credit Recognition.

Under Block Credit Recognition, credit toward the VCE is determined by the Australian Qualifications Framework level at which the units of competency/modules are recognised, and the nominal hours of training completed.

Find out more about Block Credit Recognition

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Interpreting your VCE Statement of Results

If you have graduated, one of the following will appear on your Statement of Results:

  • This student has been awarded the Victorian Certificate of Education
  • This student has been awarded the Victorian Certificate of Education -Baccalaureate.
  • This student has been awarded the Victorian Certificate of Education - Vocational Major

If you have not graduated, your Statement of Results will have the words:

  • This student needs to obtain satisfactory results in further units of study in order to be awarded the Victorian Certificate of Education.

UNIT RESULTS

Next to each study you’ve undertaken, in Units 1 and 2 and Units 3 and 4, there will be a symbol telling you if you have completed each unit satisfactorily.

An S/S means that you’ve satisfactorily completed both units. An S/N or N/S means that you haven’t completed one of the units satisfactorily. An S/- or -/S means that one unit has been satisfactorily completed, and one has not been attempted. This is quite common at the Units 1 and 2 levels.

GRADES

On your Statement of Results, there are three grades listed for each VCE study in the column marked ‘GRADES’. These three grades cover exams, school-assessed coursework and school-assessed tasks or folios.

For example, for Health and Human Development the three grades are:

1 -  Unit 3 coursework (contributes 25% of Study Score)

2 -  Unit 4 coursework (contributes 25% of Study Score)

3 -  Written exam in November (contributes 50% of Study Score).

Marks for the Grades range from A+ to UG (ungraded because of very low marks).

NA means that the Graded Assessment was not attempted or assessed.

VCE VET programs with a Study Score only have two grades.

STUDY SCORE

A study score shows how well you have performed in a study at Units 3 and 4 levels compared to everybody else in Victoria who took that study. Study scores calculated by the VCAA will be used by VTAC to calculate the ATAR.

The maximum study score is 50. Each year, and for every study, the mean study score is set at 30. A score of between 23 and 37 shows that you are in the middle range of students; a score of 38 or more indicates that you are in the top 15%.

For studies with large enrolments (1000 or more):

  • 2% of students will get a score on or above 45
  • 9% of students will get a score on or above 40
  • 26% of students will get a score on or above 35
  • 53% of students will get a score on or above 30
  • 78% of students will get a score on or above 25
  • 93% of students will get a score on or above 20.

The three Graded Assessments for each study (two for VCE VET) are used to calculate a Study Score.

For a Study Score to be calculated, you must have an S result for both Units 3 and 4 of a study (i.e. S/S) and at least two grade results in the one year. UN means the Study Score is not available because either you have an N for one of the units, or you have more than one Grade reported as NA (not assessed).

The VCAA calculates Study Scores on the basis of the numerical score attained on each Graded Assessment. Each grade corresponds to a band of numerical scores.

This is why some students receive the same letter grades but different Study Scores. 

Example:

 

Student 1

Student 2

Mathematical Methods

Study Score: 35

Study Score: 38

Grades

A+ A+ B

A+ A+ B

Numerical score

89 92 43

98 92 57

The numerical scores are not recorded on the VCE Statement of Results but you can obtain the numerical scores by applying for a Statement of Study Score.

Applications for Statement of Study Score close Friday 7 February 2025.

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Interpreting your VPC Statement of Results

If you are undertaking VPC and have not taken any VCE Units 3 and 4 studies, you will receive a Statement of Results through your school. If you have taken VCE Units 3 and 4 studies, your Statement of Results will be mailed to you by the VCAA.

If you graduate from VPC you will see these words at the bottom of the Statement of Results: 

  • This student has been awarded the Victorian Pathways Certificate.

Satisfactory completion of accredited VPC units will be reported on your Statement of Results as S. Non-satisfactory completion of a VPC unit will not be reported on your Statement of Results.

Your Statement of Results will also list all VCE units studied and whether or not you completed them satisfactorily. Satisfactory completion is reported as an S. Not meeting the requirements for satisfactory completion is reported as an N.

If you have completed VCE VET units, these will be shown on your Statement of Results. If you have completed a full VCE VET program, you will receive a separate certificate from the RTO in addition to your VPC.

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Derived Examination Score (DES)

Students are eligible to apply for a Derived Examination Score (DES) if:

  • they experience the onset of an illness or the occurrence of an injury or personal trauma in the period before or during a performance, oral or written examination
  • they experience a serious intervening event that has affected their performance in the examination or has prevented them from attending the examination.

Students must have supplied appropriate, independent evidence by the specified closing dates provided for each study for a DES application to be considered. Students cannot apply for a DES once final VCE results have been released.

If you have been approved for a DES, this will be stated on the letter in the results package.

The DES is calculated by the VCAA and may be used as your examination result where you have met the eligibility requirements.

VCAA uses every piece of information available to determine a DES. This includes moderated coursework scores, school-assessed task scores, GAT scores, other examination scores if applicable, and indicative results provided by the school.

When a DES application is approved, the highest mark will be used - either the DES calculation or the actual examination score.

A DES only affects examination results. It does not impact scores/grades for coursework or school-assessed tasks.

Find out more Derived Examination Scores

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Examination Irregularity Applications

The VCAA advises your school about the outcome of irregularity applications and, if approved, the nature of any adjustment made. These outcomes are not included in your results package. Schools are responsible for advising students about the outcome of an irregularity application.

Why have my school-based assessment scores changed?

The VCAA applies the statistical moderation process to all school-based assessments.

This is the process of ensuring that comparable assessment standards are applied to students from every school in Victoria who are enrolled in a particular study.

In other words, the VCAA uses statistical moderation to make sure that when it comes to school-based assessments, an A+ in one school is the same as an A+ in all schools across the state.

Using examination results (including the GAT), the statistical moderation process realigns the scales and adjusts schools’ assessments to the same standard so that judgements of a student’s performance will not vary across different schools.

Don’t worry, the process of statistical moderation does not change the exam results!

REASONS FOR SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT SCORES DECREASING

  • Examination results did not reflect the spread and depth of the school’s assessments.
  • School may have set easier internal assessment tasks than the examination standard.
  • School may have marked easier than the examination standard.

REASONS FOR SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT SCORES INCREASING

  • Spread and depth of examination results were stronger than the school’s assessments.
  • School may have set more challenging coursework assessment compared with the rest of the state.
  • School may have marked harder than the examination standard.

REASONS FOR SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT SCORES STAYING THE SAME

  • Examination results reflected the spread and depth of the school assessments.
  • School may have set internal assessment tasks of the same level of difficulty as the examination.
  • School may have marked to the examination standard.

Find out more about Statistical moderation

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Statement of Marks and Inspection of Examination Response Materials

STATEMENT OF MARKS

You can apply for a Statement of Marks to find out the maximum mark that you can get for each question on an exam, and the mark you obtained.

The Statement of Marks will also give you the correct answers to the multiple-choice questions, where applicable.

Personalised Statement of Marks application forms are included in the results package sent to each Year 12 student.

There is no charge for a Statement of Marks or Statement of Study Score.

Applications for a Statement of Marks and Statement of Study Score close Friday 7 February 2025

Applications received after this date will not be processed.

Find out more about Statement of Marks

INSPECTION OF EXAMINATION RESPONSE MATERIAL

If you want to find out more about your exam results, you can apply to inspect your completed written exam papers and audio recordings of music performance exams.

You must obtain the relevant Statement of Marks before the inspection and, if possible, arrange to have the study teacher present.

Inspections take place at your school with the principal’s permission. When schools are closed, inspections can take place at the VCAA. You are required to make an appointment with the VCAA to hold the inspection.

You can look at your exam paper for 15 minutes. There won’t be any marks or assessor comments on the paper. It’s best if you look at it with a teacher present and with a copy of the Statement of Marks on hand.

Personalised Inspection of Exam Materials application forms are included in the results package sent to each Year 12 student.

A fee of $28.50 is charged for each examination response inspection, whether you inspect it at your school or at the VCAA.

Applications for Inspection of Examination Response Materials close Friday 7 February 2025 .

Applications received after this date will not be processed.

Find out more about Inspection of Examination Response Materials

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General Achievement Test (GAT)

In 2024, students enrolled in one or more VCE Vocational Major Unit 3-4 sequence but who are not enrolled in any VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequences were required to sit Section A of the GAT.If a student has already met the standards in a previous year and they are enrolled in VCE Vocational Major but not in any VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequences, they will not be expected to sit Section A. However, they may opt to do so if they wish.

Students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequence, including students not planning to undertake scored assessment were required to sit both Sections a and B of the GAT.

This includes students who have met the literacy and numeracy standards in a previous year.

If you sat this year’s GAT, your skills were assessed against the standards in reading, writing and numeracy introduced into Section A of the GAT.

The GAT Statement of Results indicates if you have met the standard, not met the standard, or met the standard and demonstrated a level of excellence.

In addition, if you completed both sections of the GAT, your results will include scores for each GAT component as follows:

  • Writing (Section A) and Written Communication (Section B)
  • Reading (Section A) and Humanities/Arts/Social Sciences (Section B)
  • Numeracy (Section A) and Mathematics/Science/Technology (Section B).

If you have completed your secondary schooling but have not met one or more of the standards and wish to do so, there will be an opportunity to sit another test in April 2025.

Find out more about resitting the GAT

GAT and VCE results

Although GAT results do not count directly towards VCE results, they also play an important role in checking that school-based assessments and examinations have been accurately assessed, and in calculating Derived Examination Scores (DES) where applicable.

The GAT is used in these ways because achievement on the GAT is one predictor of achievement on other assessments. If students have done well on the GAT, then their achievements are likely to be high on their school-based assessments and examinations.

If your final examination score is significantly lower than the score predicted by school indicative grades, any other examination scores for the study, and scores for SACs and SATs or the GAT, your examination will have been assessed again.

Scores may go up or stay the same but will not go down as a result of this final check.

GAT results may also be used as part of the DES calculations. The calculation for a DES uses all of your available scores in the affected study, and the indicative grade for the examination and the GAT component scores.

Find out more about the GAT

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Non-arrival of results

If your results package has not arrived, it could be because you changed your address during the year and your school did not tell the VCAA. You should check at your old address and with Australia Post.

If you did not change your address and your results have not arrived by the afternoon of Wednesday 18 December 2024, please contact the VCAA at (03) 9032 1700.

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