The Queensland Core Skills Test is a statewide test completed by all Queensland year twelve students who are eligible for an Overall Position and is optional (but beneficial) for tertiary rank students. These ranks are used to gain entrance into tertiary degrees and courses. In-school subject rankings given to students are scaled and moderated using the performance of the subject cohort at individual schools on the QCS test. The QCS test is the only statewide external exam conducted in the two senior years of secondary education (years 11 and 12).
Contents
The QCS Test is claimed to be an achievement test grounded in the year 12 curriculum, rather than a measure of intelligence or aptitude. Moreover, the test is aimed to be accessible to all students regardless of subject choice, with general knowledge, vocabulary and mathematics tested only to the common year 10 level. It is held over two consecutive days late in Term 3.
In 2010, a student-organised movement, fuelled by the popular social networking site Facebook suggested that students mention Bear Grylls in the writing task or in the short response task, similar to Project Clooney '09 in the General Achievement Test. A similar movement was started in 2011, substituting Harry Potter for Bear Grylls.
Format
The QCS Test comprises four papers—a two-hour writing task, a two-hour short-response, and two one-and-a-half-hour multiple-choice papers. These form the three modes of assessment—extended writing, short-response and multiple-choice.
The writing task requires students to write around 600 words of continuous English prose based on provided stimulus material and a set theme. This could include graphics, quotations and statistics.
The short response paper tests various skills through various tasks, including calculations, drawing and reasoning. The two multiple-choice papers require candidates to choose from four alternate answers for a variety of questions.
Results on the QCS test are returned to students as an overall grade from A to E with exit results in December.
Content tested
The test is designed by the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority to test 49 common curricular elements, including basic skills from "recognising letters, words and other symbols" to complex skills such as "hypothesising" and "expounding a viewpoint".