Here's How Year 12 ATAR Exams Will Be Held Across Australia

We've got what you need to know.

Year 12 students have nearly reached the end of what has been one highly unpredictable and stressful year.

The coronavirus pandemic forced students to learn from home, take classes (or pretend to take classes) over Zoom and complete assessments online. Not only did they miss out on valuable face-to-face learning, but they weren't able to spend as much time with their peers.

On top of that, NSW students even came close to having their school formals and graduations cancelled. 

Of course, 2020 has been particularly tough for Year 12s who are trying their best to prepare for ATAR examinations. 

In fact, if you're feeling like you could use some encouragement right now, check out these messages of support from some Student Edge members in Year 12.

If you're a Year 12 student, you're probably wondering: What will ATAR exams look like in my state? What happens if there's a coronavirus outbreak around exam time? 

Since certain states and territories have been able to relax coronavirus restrictions more than others, Year 12 exams will look different depending on where you live. 

So, we did some investigating to find out exactly how ATAR exams will go ahead in each state and territory across Australia. 

Western Australia

At this stage, Year 12 ATAR course written examinations will take place from 2 November to 20 November, while interstate language exams will run from 20 October to 1 December. 

Phase 4 of WA's COVID-19 roadmap is set to start on 24 October, and would see all remaining restrictions removed, except for the state's hard border and access to remote Aboriginal communities. It'd also see the removal of WA's 2 square metre rule and the 50 per cent capacity for our major venues.

While Year 12s in WA will undertake ATAR exams as per usual, the WA Department of Education has a back-up location for high school students if the state suffers another coronavirus outbreak.

"The School Curriculum and Standards Authority has booked the Perth Convention Centre as one of a number of contingencies in place for this year's examinations if required," School Curriculum and Standards Executive Director, Allan Blagaich, told Student Edge.

New South Wales

As per the HSC timetable, 120 written exams will start with English on 20 October. 

According to the NSW Education Standards Authority website, students will be asked before entering the exam room whether they have any flu-like symptoms. You may also wear a mask if you'd like. Exam rooms will be regularly cleaned and hygiene supplies will be available and continually re-stocked. 

If you do have flu-like symptoms on the day of your exam, you shouldn't attend your exam. Instead, you'll need to contact your school to advise them of the issue, get tested and provide your school with a medical certificate.

You can find out more about the COVID-19 illness and misadventure procedures here. 

In the event that a COVID-19 case is confirmed during the HSC exams, your school's principal will have a contigency plan in place. 

There's also a statewide learning-from-home category to cover students who were unable to access any teaching and learning for six weeks or more (excluding school holidays) between Monday 9 March and Friday 22 May 2020, when students were required to learn from home.

Victoria

If you're a Year 12 student in Victoria, it's safe to say your school year has been completely disrupted. 

Nonetheless, a Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority spokesperson told Student Edge, "The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) end-of-year written exams will take place during the period from 10 November to 1 December 2020." 

"All VCE examinations will be conducted in line with the Victorian Chief Health Officer's advice that is applicable to schools and other venues at the time of the examinations," the spokesperson said.

"The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is continuing to work with the Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide schools with information so that examinations can be conducted in a way that is safe for students, supervisors and school staff." 

With the situation in Victoria rapidly changing, it's hard to say for sure exactly how Year 12 exams will go ahead. However, every Victorian Year 12 student will be individually assessed so that the impact of coronavirus can be reflected in the ATAR.

Queensland

For Queensland students, QCAA exams are set to kick off at the end of October. 

"The QCAA's highest priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the health and safety of our staff and school communities," QCAA Chief Executive Officer Chris Rider told Student Edge.

"The QCCA will provide schools with information to assist with contingency planning, informed by advice from education and health authorities—including on how schools should manage the delivery of exams if they are affected by COVID-19.

"Owing to disruptions caused by COVID-19 since March—and to support students— the QCAA reduced the number of school-based assessments required in each senior subject. This has given teachers and students enough time to prepare for final exams." 

On top of that, the QCAA's timetable has been designed to minimise clashes for students across the examination period. It also ensures that most students sit no more than two external assessments on one day.

 Northern Territory

Fortunately, there was no community transmission of coronavirus in the NT, so schools were able to continue to deliver face-to-face learning.

The Northern Territory Department of Education told Student Edge, "Year 12 students in the NT will be sitting their NTCET exams in the coming weeks. These exams will be held in schools, while still adhering to the current advice from the NT Chief Health Officer." 

"The department has been working closely with the SACE Board in regards to assessment arrangements for our senior students and they have quality assurance procedures in place for all external exams." 

The NT Department of Education also added that "there is no reason to expect that our students won't be able to sit their exams in schools." 

Tasmania

Written exams for Year 12s in Tasmania will begin on Monday 9 November. 

"At this stage, Tasmania's end-of-year exams are going ahead in line with the published timetables at 26 exam centres across the state," the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) told Student Edge. 

"Tasmania's current public health measures to restrict potential spread of COVID-19 will be in place at all centres.

"However, this year has shown us that nothing is certain, and back-up plans have been prepared to use if necessary, ensuring that no Tasmanian student will be disadvantaged in 2020." 

South Australia

South Australian students are gearing up to sit their exams across late October and November.

As Chief Executive of the SACE Board of SA Martin Westwell tells Student Edge, Year 12 exams are going ahead as scheduled.

"Our position on end-of-year exams has remain unchanged throughout 2020, thanks to the hard work and resilience of teachers and students," Mr Westwell says.

"Exams, which are worth up to 30 per cent of a student's final grade, will go ahead as scheduled, with the same dates and arrangements in place as previous years.

"In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak around exam time, the SACE Board of SA has a process in place for computing exam results, based on the 70 per cent of students' quality-assured school-based assessments and other information." 

Australian Capital Territory

Exams in the ACT are scheduled to go ahead across ACT schools as scheduled for the rest of 2020. 

"While there will be social distancing and hygiene measures in place for teachers and staff, these are not expected to provide any significant disruption to exam processes," an ACT Education Department Directorate spokesperson told Student Edge. 

It's also important to note that the ACT system is different to other states and territories. ACT schools determine ATARs on the basis of a range of assessment formats conducted throughout the school year, so ATAR scores are not completely reliant on end of year exams.

If you're an ACT student, you can find out more about how your ATAR is calculated here. 

Preparing for Year 12 exams is always stressful, but with everything that has happened in 2020, it's undoubtedly even more challenging this year.

Make sure you keep in mind that many universities are accepting students based on their predicted ATAR scores from Year 11, and there's always a way to gain entry into your dream course after high school. 

Year 12 exams can be overwhelming. Remember, you can always visit ReachOut to get support to help you with everything from everyday issues through to tough times.

You can also call Lifeline on 131 114 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.

Header Image: ABC