6/11/02
About 13,600 students will sit their written Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE) over the next two-and-a-half weeks, with History, the first of the TEE exams to start this morning.
Education Minister Alan Carpenter extended his best wishes to all students and encouraged them to be prepared and feel positive about their upcoming exams.
"The written TEE is a very important time for students, however they should remember that 50 per cent of their final score in a subject is based on school assessment," Mr Carpenter said.
He said 3,315 students would take the first examination of History.
The Minister urged candidates to arrive at the examination centres with plenty of time to spare - at least 20 minutes - and with required stationery.
"You need to enter the examination room feeling ready for a challenge and in charge, so make sure you are prepared and not feeling rushed," he said.
"It is very important that you are alert and that you take the time to read and understand the questions on each page."
Mr Carpenter said 67 per cent of WA's 20,135 Year 12 students were enrolled to sit at least one TEE subject, with 11,489 or about 85 per cent of the 13,454 Year 12 TEE students seeking a Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) by enrolling in four or more subjects.
"The number of students looking to gain a TER has increased by 2.6 per cent, in line with the increase in the total number of Year 12 students," he said.
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 Carey Baptist College, in Forrestdale, and Strathalbyn Christian College, in Geraldton.
Mr Carpenter said the TEE was a huge logistical exercise for the Curriculum Council, which sets and conducts the exams, with about 640 supervisors administering 55,000 examination papers, and 800 teachers and university lecturers marking the examination scripts.
"Students will be sitting examinations at 309 centres at schools and secondary colleges throughout WA and four schools in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore," he said.
"Candidates will also sit exams in Sydney, Melbourne, Germany, Italy, Austria, Ghana, Malawi, Jordan, Myanmar, on HMAS Worramunga and at home."
He said applications for special examinations arrangements were up by more than a third this year, from 267 to 358.
"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," the Minister said.
Finally, Mr Carpenter encouraged families and friends to support the students emotionally and in practical ways 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 22 with German.
All Year 12 students, including TEE candidates, will be able to access their results from December 26 on the Internet at http://www.year12results.wa.edu.au or by ringing the TISC (Tertiary Institutions Service Centre) phone line on 1901 191 091 on December 27. Results will also be posted on December 27.
Minister's office: 9213 6800
Timetable and fact sheet follow:
Timetable for the 2002 TEE Written Papers
2002 YEAR 12/TEE FACT SHEET
6/11/02 1. Student statistics as at 31/10/02 (October 2001 figures in brackets):
WA students study Curriculum Council subjects in Years 11 and 12 to be eligible for secondary graduation, which is recognised through the Western Australia Certificate of Education (WACE). The Council sets and conducts the Tertiary Entrance Examinations (TEE). Students must be enrolled with the Council to sit an exam or to qualify for the WACE.
Year 12 enrolments: 20,135 (up 2.6 per cent from 19,629) students enrolled in Curriculum Council subjects.
Year 12 TEE enrolments: 13,454 or 66.8 per cent (13,206 or 67.3 per cent) are enrolled to sit at least one TEE subject.
TEE for university entrance: Of the 13,454 Year 12 TEE students, 11,489 or 85.4 per cent (11,200 or 84.8 per cent) are enrolled to sit for four or more TEE subjects. Candidates need at least four subjects to gain a TER (Tertiary Entrance Rank).
Bar statistics: 783 enrolled for one subject; 770 for two subjects; 412 for three subjects; 4,001 for four subjects; 5,026 for five subjects; 2,112 for six; 324 for seven subjects; 26 for eight subjects.
*13,596 comprises 13,454 Year 12 students, 140 Year 11 students and two Year 10 students.
School Type* Government - 7,551 (7,328)
Non-Govt - 5,769 (5,534)
Overseas - 201 (288)
Gender Male 6,199 (5,898)
Female 7,397 (7,308)
*There are 75 (56) students who are enrolled totally as private candidates, which means they are not enrolled through a school and their result is based on the exam only. Therefore, these students have not been included in the location and type figures.Location*
Metropolitan - 11,306 (10,955)
Country - 2,014 (1,907)
Overseas - 201 (288)
Year 12 Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander enrolments360 (298) Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander students in Year 12, with 89 (86) students enrolled to sit one or more TEE subjects.
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander students enrolled to sit one or more TEE subjects
One student is enrolled totally as a private candidate so is not included in location and school type figures.
2. Subjects - 33 subjects to be examined (no new subjects since 1999); about 55,000 papers to mark.
- About 100 examiners and 639 supervisors; 800 teachers and university lecturers marking papers.
- Subject with the highest number of candidates is English with 9,171 (8,533) candidates, followed by Discrete Mathematics with 8,607 (8,002) and Applicable Mathematics with 4,707 (4,785).
- Subjects with the smallest number of candidates are some of the LOTE subjects, such as Modern Greek, Japanese: Advanced and Chinese: Second Language with between six and 21 candidates.
- For subjects with more than 1,500 candidates, notable changes are Biology (up nine per cent), Calculus (down five per cent), Discrete Mathematics (up eight per cent), Economics (up six per cent), English (up eight per cent), English Literature (down 10 per cent).
3. Timetable (available at the Curriculum Council's website at
http://www.curriculum.wa.edu.au - Practical exams were held for seven LOTE (Languages Other Than English) subjects, Music and Drama Studies. Practical exams began on 1/10/02 with Drama Studies (held during Term Three holidays at two city and five country venues) and finished on 5/11/02.
- Art visual diaries had to be submitted by 22/10/02 for marking.
- Written exams start on 6/11/02 with History, although Japanese: Advanced and Modern Greek students sat interstate examinations in WA earlier. The last examination is German on 22/11/02.
- Year 12 Wholly School-assessed Subject Award student presentations were held in October. Award winners will be published in the media in early January.
4. Exam locations: - 309 exam centres in WA schools and secondary colleges, including two home supervisions (due to illness); four overseas schools (in Singapore, Indonesia and two schools in Malaysia); two interstate examinations (Sydney and Melbourne); eight overseas examinations (Italy, Austria, Ghana, Malawi, Jordan, Myanmar and two in Germany); and HMAS Worramunga.
- New locations: Carey Baptist College (Forrestdale) and Strathalbyn Christian College (Geraldton).
5. Calculators: Graphics calculators were first allowed in some subjects in 1998 and have been gradually introduced into all science and maths subjects. Non-programmable calculators were allowed in Information Systems for the first time last year (allowed in 13 subjects altogether).
6. Special examination arrangements: The Council had received 357applications at 5/11/02, with 317 approved, 32 not approved and eight withdrawn. (In 2001, there were 267 applications, 234 people were given permission for special arrangements for their temporary or permanent disability, 21 were not approved and 12 were withdrawn.) 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.
7. 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. The school marks and TEE marks count equally towards the final scaled mark.
More information:
Jeanette Murray, Curriculum Council of Western Australia
0403 310 583 or murrj@curriculum.wa.edu.au
