Victorian Students, Your ATAR Score Will Be Adjusted for Coronavirus Impact

Each student will be individually assessed.

If you're a Year 12 student living in Victoria, there is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption to your last year of high school. 

Between being forced to attend virtual classes and complete assessments online, students have faced their fair share of challenges. At one point, we didn't even know if Year 12s would complete exams. 

While exams are definitely going ahead, Victorian Education Minister James Merlino announced today that every Victorian Year 12 student will be individually assessed so that the impact of coronavirus can be reflected in their ATAR. 

As reported by The Guardian, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will introduce a wide-ranging "consideration of educational disadvantage" process to calculate each student's ATAR. 

Normally, students are assessed for special consideration on a case-by-case basis, but in 2020 every student in Victoria will undergo this assessment.

Mr Merlino said this special consideration will take into account school closures and long absences. Along with that, they'll also look at things like an increase in family responsibilities due to COVID-19, and the student's mental health and wellbeing.

Instead of just using a student's exam results to determine their ATAR, the VCAA will also consider their expected achievement levels before COVID-19, school assessments completed before remote learning, the general achievement test (GAT), and a variety of statistical analyses to calculate their final ATAR. 

The measure aims to ensure that Victorian students aren't disadvantaged as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Additionally, Mr Merlino revealed that the Victorian government will also provide $28.5 million towards mental health support training for more than 1,500 school staff to help them identify at-risk students.

It all sounds pretty overwhelming, but don't fret. Your school will be asked to provide the VCAA with information on all their Year 12 students. 

At this stage, this measure has only been introduced for Year 12 students in Victoria. 

Huge news for Victorian Year 12 students!

"We're announcing today that every single VCE student will be individually assessed and any adverse impacts from COVID-19 will be reflected in their ATAR ranking," Vic Education Minister @JamesMerlinoMP said.

— Shalailah Medhora (@shalailah) August 7, 2020

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