7/11/01
Written Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE) start this morning (Wed) with more than 13,200 students set to take examinations over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
Education Minister Alan Carpenter extended his best wishes to all students and encouraged them to feel positive about the exams.
"While the written TEE is a very important time for students, they should remember 50 per cent of their final score in a subject is based on school assessment, and many students have already taken practical examinations," Mr Carpenter said.
He said about 4,700 students would take the first examination of Applicable Mathematics.
The Minister urged candidates to arrive at the examination centres with plenty of time to spare - at least 20 minutes - and with required stationery and calculators.
"You need to enter the examination room feeling positive and in charge, so make sure you are prepared and not feeling rushed," he said.
"It is very important that you are thinking clearly and that you take time to understand the questions on the page."
Mr Carpenter said 67 per cent of WA's 19,629 Year 12 students were enrolled to sit at least one TEE subject, with about 85 per cent of TEE students enrolled to take four or more subjects.
No new subjects had been introduced this year to the list of 33 subjects but students would be taking exams for the first time at Shenton College (Shenton Park), Sevenoaks Senior College (Cannington), Tranby College (Baldivis), Mandurah Senior College, Great Southern Grammar School (Albany) and St Francis Methodist School (Singapore).
"Most students will be sitting examinations at 138 schools and secondary colleges throughout WA but some candidates are also taking WA exams in New South Wales, South Australia, Austria, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and two WA correctional institutions," the Minister said.
Mr Carpenter said the TEE was a massive logistical exercise for the Curriculum Council, with about 550 supervisors administering 55,000 examination papers, and 800 teachers and university lecturers marking the examination scripts.
"The Curriculum Council strives to accommodate student needs, including making special arrangements for students with temporary or permanent disabilities that could disadvantage them during the examination process," he said.Finally, Mr Carpenter said candidates benefited enormously from being supported emotionally and in practical ways by their families during the exam period.
"Parents can support their sons and daughters by providing a quiet environment for study, allowing them time for some recreation and time off, and providing good, healthy meals, especially before an exam," he said.
Written examinations will finish on November 23 with Indonesian: Second Language.
All Year 12 students, including TEE candidates, will be able to access their results from December 27 on the Internet http://www.year12results.wa.edu.au or by ringing the TISC (Tertiary Institutions Service Centre) phone line on 1901 191 091. Results will also be posted on December 27.
Media contact: Owen Cole 9213 6800
2001 TEE FACT SHEETWestern Australian Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE) statistics (as at 31/10/01):
13,206 individual candidates enrolled to sit at least one subject (13,417 enrolled in October 2000; 11,986 sat at least one subject in November 2000).
Metropolitan/country breakdown: 10,955 in metropolitan area; 1,907 in the country; 288 overseas; 56 private candidates.
Male/female breakdown: 5,898 males; 7,308 females.
Government/non-government breakdown: 7,328 government; 5,534 non-government; 288 overseas; 56 private candidates.
Aboriginals/Torres Strait Islanders: 298 Year 12 students enrolled with the Curriculum Council; 86 students are enrolled to sit one or more TEE subjects.
11,200 (84.8%) candidates are enrolled to sit for 4 or more subjects; the most popular number of TEE subjects to be enrolled in is 5.
Total number of Year 12 students is 19,629 (therefore 67.3% are enrolled to sit at least one TEE subject).
33 subjects to be examined (no new subjects); about 55,000 papers to mark.
About 100 examiners and 550 supervisors; 800 teachers and university lecturers marking papers.
Subject with the highest number of candidates is English (8,533 candidates), followed by Discrete Mathematics (8,002) and Applicable Mathematics (4,785).
Subjects with the smallest number of candidates are Modern Greek and Japanese: Advanced with 11 candidates each.Timetable (available at the Curriculum Council's website at http://www.curriculum.wa.edu.au
Practical exams are held for 9 LOTE (Languages Other Than English) subjects, Music and Drama Studies. Practical exams began on October 2 with Drama Studies (held during Term 3 holidays at 2 city and 5 country venues) and will finish by November 6.
Art visual diaries had to be submitted on October 23 for marking.
Written exams start on November 7 with Applicable Mathematics, although Japanese: Advanced students will sit an interstate examination here on November 6. The last examination is Indonesian: Second Language on November 23.
Exam locations:
138 exam centres: New exam centres are Tranby College (Baldivis), Shenton College (Shenton Park), Sevenoaks Senior College (Cannington), Mandurah Senior College, Great Southern Grammar School (Albany), St Francis Methodist School (Singapore). Drama Studies practical will be held in Australind and Kalgoorlie for the first time.
Candidates are also sitting WA TEE subjects in New South Wales, South Australia, Austria, Thailand, Brunei, St Francis Methodist School, in Singapore, and two WA correctional institutions.
Calculators:
Graphics calculators were first allowed in some subjects in 1998 and are allowed in Discrete Mathematics, Applicable Mathematics, Calculus, Chemistry, Physics and Physical Science this year. Non-programmable calculators are allowed in Information Systems for the first time this year (allowed in 13 subjects altogether).
Special examination arrangements:
The Council had received 255 applications at 2/11/01 (265 applications received in 2000). In 2000, 239 people were given permission for special arrangements for their temporary or permanent disability. Special exam arrangements are given on the basis that normal exam conditions could disadvantage them by preventing them from displaying, to the full extent, what they have learned. The Curriculum Council was awarded a Disability Services Commission award in 2000 for its efforts to provide options to assist students with disabilities taking the TEE.
Results will be available on the Internet (at the joint Curriculum Council/Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) website at http://www.year12results.wa.edu.au and on the TISC phone line on 1901 191 091 from December 27. TEE marks are worth 50%; by the end of the school year candidates will have already accumulated up to 50% of their scaled, or final, mark through school assessment.
For more information: Jeanette Murray, Curriculum Council of Western Australia 0403 310 583 or murrj@curriculum.wa.edu.au
Timetable for the 2001 Tertiary Entrance Examinations Written Papers
*Examinations set in the Eastern States.
