Consideration of Educational Disadvantage

Information for Parents/ Guardians/ Carers

Over the past months, the VCAA has made several major adjustments to the delivery of VCE and VCE VET studies to support schools and students to engage with learning and assessment, both within the classroom and remotely. These changes, which reduced the assessment demands on students, were crucial to enable a fair, valid and reliable assessment to be made for this year’s VCE students.

At the same time, we recognise that some students enrolled in VCE and VCE VET scored studies have experienced particularly difficult circumstances this year as a result of both coronavirus (COVID-19) and/or bushfires. This includes health and wellbeing challenges, financial stress, extra home responsibilities and family stresses.

To ensure fairness for all students, Consideration of Educational Disadvantage (CED) will be considered for all students. In support of this new process, all students can submit a Student Statement. The Student Statement is a simple tick box exercise which will inform the process of CED. No supporting evidence is required. However, the school can ask for clarification if needed.

As part of the process, it is important to understand that number of boxes ticked does not equate to a change in study score. This information will complement what the school already knows about students, for example, previous assessment scores. 

The school will use documented evidence about the student’s achievement when undertaking the CED process, with the normal VCAA processes ensuring fairness within and between schools. Wodonga Senior Secondary College regularly collects and maintains extensive data on individual student achievement and progress, which will inform the CED process for our students. 

The VCAA will consider the submitted information, including the student’s General Achievement Test results so that each student’s final VCE and VCE VET study results are fair and reliable.

The VCAA is a statutory authority established under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. All personal information collected by the VCAA is handled in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and, where applicable, the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

How do I get the best possible outcome for my child?

• Please continue to encourage your child to stay focused and work hard towards their VCE examinations.
• Ensure they complete the Consideration of Educational Disadvantage Student Statement (sent to their school email address)

If you have questions about this process, please contact Brydie Hind on (02) 6043 7500.