A RECORD 74 per cent of Mount Isa’s senior students are giving the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test the flick today.
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While the number of year 12 students in the North West opting to sit the exam has declined by 21 per cent over the past five years, 2015 sees participation plummet to a new low.
Mount Isa schools have revealed that only 26 per cent of seniors are sitting the QCS exam today and tomorrow.
It’s a 10 per cent overall drop on 2014’s figures, as kept by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).
Spinifex State College has 35 pupils taking the test out of 136 in the year 12 class, while Good Shepherd Catholic College weighs in with 14 students out of 53.
At Cloncurry’s only year 12 provider, the state school, there is a slightly lower participation rate of 20 per cent; with four students out of 20 putting ink on the QCS test this year.
In 2014, the Queensland average was 53 per cent (26, 730 students).
The QCS test is Queensland’s benchmark secondary assessment that, in conjunction with applicable subject results, is used to calculate an Overall Position (OP).
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority Chief Executive Officer Chris Rider said the senior education landscape had changed since the OP’s introduction 23 years ago when students “generally studied traditional academic subjects” for their result.
“The purpose of the OP is to rank students on the basis of their performance in these subjects for the sole purpose of selecting them for entrance to university,” he said.
Mr Rider said the majority of participants today “successfully combine an academic range of courses and vocational qualifications, providing options for further education, training and work.”
The emphasis placed on the QCS exam is warranted for students pursuing tertiary studies, according to Spinifex Head of Senior Campus Phil Sweeny.
“This test is significant because it scales students results compared with other students across Queensland,” he said.
Last week, Education Minister Kate Jones announced the QCS would be replaced, with a new system phased in for students entering Year 11 in 2018.
If this year’s figures are any indication, it would appear the North West is ahead of the game.