The Victorian Government is setting a pathway to ensure Year 12 students can approach their final months of school with confidence, scheduling new exam and assessment dates ahead of the year’s final exam periods.

As we confront the immediate challenge of the current Delta outbreak, Victorians know how important it is to follow the stay-at-home orders, get tested and get vaccinated to run this virus to ground. At the same time, it’s vital to outline a plan to give senior secondary students the clarity they need as they prepare for their final assessments.

Subject to ongoing public health advice and epidemiological conditions, the 2021 General Achievement Test (GAT) will be held for all Year 12 students across Victoria on Thursday 9 September, with extra COVIDSafe conditions in place to keep students and school staff safe.

While students in metropolitan Melbourne continue remote learning, school-based assessments that cannot be conducted remotely – for example, performance or practical assessments – may be completed in person at schools from 30 August, in groups of no more than 10 students at a time.

VCE written and performance exam dates will remain as originally set – with performance and oral exams scheduled to begin on Monday 4 October, and written exams to run until Wednesday 17 November, subject to further public health advice.

These timetables will allow results and the ATAR to be released on Thursday 16 December.

All examinations, onsite school-based assessments and the GAT will be conducted with extra health precautions in place – like the use of face masks, enhanced cleaning of exam spaces and smaller than usual group sizes to allow students to be physically distanced.

Students who are unwell at the time of an assessment will be required to get tested and return home to isolate, and a Derived Examination Score will be calculated if a rescheduled assessment is not possible.

In light of the continued disruption to the 2021 school year, the Consideration of Educational Disadvantage will apply to each and every student completing one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 subject in 2021 – giving students certainty that the only thing counting towards their score is their effort and hard work.

Consistent with the approach in 2020, the process will consider the individual impact of coronavirus on each student including school closures, students’ health impact, remote learning and mental health challenges – and will use data like the GAT, other assessment and school comparisons to calculate final VCE results.