Problems with the VCE English exam
July 13, 2026 by Doug McCurry from BooBook Education
Problems with the VCE English exam
There are a number of seriously problematic issues about the VCE English exam. The problems arise from the lack of direction about exam tasks, the opacity of the exam marking, and the lack of feedback from the exam marking.
Strengthening the Vocational Major and other alternative pathways
June 22, 2026 by Doug McCurry from BooBook Education
Strengthening the Vocational Major and other alternative pathways
One of the fundamental changes between the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and the VCE Vocational Major (VM) was the requirement that VM students do the new GAT Part A literacy and numeracy tests like all other VCE students. The GAT assessment gives VM students an external assessment of their reading, writing and numeracy skills that adds some assessment rigour to the VM and strengths it.
Is the performance on the GAT strong or are the VCE standards low?
June 8, 2026 by Doug McCurry from BooBook Education
Is the performance on the GAT strong or are the VCE standards low?
It was claimed that the extension of the GAT to be a literacy and numeracy assessment in 2022 would have the significant benefit of giving the new Vocational Major (VM) course a degree of assessment rigor that contrasted with the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning that the VM superseded. But the laudable intention of adding some assessment rigor to a vocational pathway in the VCE was subverted by the decision about how to report the results of the GAT literacy and numeracy assessment for VM students.
Workload, Quality information and Computer scoring of MCQ and SAQ
May 25, 2026 by Doug McCurry from BooBook Education
Workload, Quality information and Computer scoring of MCQ and SAQ
I have long been opposed to the old forms of computer scoring of writing, but the advent of AI in the form of Large Language Models means that the usefulness of computer scoring of writing is now, for me at least, an open question. But I will leave that issue for another blog.
Using MCQ and SAQ for teaching and learning in VCE English - 2
May 10, 2026 by Doug McCurry from BooBook Education
Using MCQ and SAQ for teaching and learning in VCE English - 2
Q and A for Section C of the 2025 English exam
Below are 12 multiple choice and 10 short answer questions about the Section C text used in the English exam of 2025.
