VCE SECOND LANGUAGES REVIEW
PANEL
TERMS OF REFERENCE
(Major Review)
The VCE Second Languages Review Panel will undertake the review and development of the VCE
study design for the Second Language model and will develop a draft study design proposal in
accordance with the VCAA Principles and Guidelines for the development and review of VCE
studies. The VCE languages operating on the Second Language model are Arabic, Chinese
Second Language, Chinese Second Language Advanced, French, German, Greek, Indonesian
Second Language, Italian, Japanese Second Language, Korean Second Language, Spanish and
Vietnamese Second Language. The role of the development panel is advisory and the proposed
study design will be subject to endorsement by the Senior Secondary Curriculum and Assessment
Committee (SSCAC) and approval by the Board of the VCAA.
The Review Panel will develop the draft study design, ensuring the study is benchmarked against
similar subjects in leading global jurisdictions.
In developing the VCE Second Languages study, the panel will give consideration to:
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© VCAA
the relationship between the Victorian Curriculum and the study and the relationship
between the study and post-schooling pathways
the existence of overlap and/or duplication both within the study and between other VCE
studies
the relationship between the study and other VCE, VET and VCAL studies
the extent to which the study reflects contemporary research and developments that are
appropriate to the field of study and the senior secondary level of schooling
the appropriateness and coherence of the structure and areas of study in relation to the
aims of the study
the capacity of the study to enable both broad participation and the achievement of
excellence
the effectiveness of the assessment program in measuring student performance against the
learning outcomes
the appropriateness of the weighting of the examination and school-based assessment
the appropriateness of the areas of study and outcomes, and their relationship to the
examination
the appropriateness of the structure of the study
the use of digital technologies in the study, including for the purposes of assessment
the contribution of the study to the development of employability skills
student workload
gender and/or cultural and/or socio-economic bias
any specific minimum facilities and resources required to deliver the study.
VCE SECOND LANGUAGES REVIEW PANEL
The Review Panel will provide evidence that the following data have been considered in the review
and evaluation of the study
 enrolments and enrolment trends by unit and year level (including gender, sector and
location)
 satisfactory completion rates by unit
 grade distributions
 scaled study scores and destination data from VTAC
 reports from some State Reviewers, Chairs of Examination Panels and Chief Assessors
 reports of audit of School-based assessments
 statistical moderation of coursework
 benchmarking report.
Consultation
In the development of the proposal the Review Panel will ensure that it consults at least at the draft
proposal stage with key interest groups including:
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the MLTAV and other single language professional associations
teachers and others on the VCE Study Register, interested in being consulted on the VCE
study design for the Second Language model
a range of State Reviewers, Chairs of Examination Panels and Chief Assessors
the university and TAFE sectors
peak representative agencies in Victoria
The consultation draft and questionnaire will be made available on the VCAA website during the
consultation period.
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