GAT: General Achievement Test
Past GAT Papers (VCAA)
What is the General Achievement Test (VCAA Article)
Key Points:
What is the General Achievement Test?
Why do students have to do the GAT?
How is the GAT used?
Key Point:
My school does not focus on the GAT and spends no time preparing students for it. Given that the GAT is used in statistical moderation, will this disadvantage my students?
What is the General Achievement Test (VCAA Article)
Key Points:
What is the General Achievement Test?
- The General Achievement Test is a test of general knowledge and skills in:
- written communication
- mathematics, science and technology
- humanities, the arts and social sciences.
- These areas are very broad.
- Each represents a body of general knowledge and skills that students are likely to have built up through their school years.
- Because it is a general test, no special study will be required. Past study of subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and History prepares students for the GAT by building their general knowledge and skills in writing, numeracy and reasoning
- From 2022, the GAT will be split into two sections:
- Section A will assess literacy and numeracy skills
- Section B will assess skills in mathematics, science, technology, the arts and humanities, with an increased focus on critical and creative thinking skills
Why do students have to do the GAT?
- The GAT is an essential part of the VCE assessment procedures.
- All students enrolled in one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3 and 4 sequences must sit the GAT.
- GAT results do not count directly towards a student’s VCE results
- Clearly, some GAT questions relate more closely to achievement in particular studies. The VCAA takes this into account when it calculates students’ expected achievements in each study for each school.
- For example, GAT results in mathematics, science and technology play only a minor part in calculating students’ expected achievements in humanities studies.
- From 2022, the GAT also assesses literacy and numeracy skills which will give "employers a better insight into young jobseekers' basic capabilities in reading and maths". The Age
How is the GAT used?
- The VCAA will use students’ GAT scores as a basis for:
- contributing to statistical moderation of school-based assessment results
- checking the accuracy of external assessment marking
- calculating the Derived Examination Scores.
- The literacy and numeracy section of the GAT is measured independently and are not included in the calculations of VCE results or awarding of the VCAL. Obtaining a senior secondary certificate is not contingent on a particular literacy and numeracy outcome in the GAT.
Key Point:
My school does not focus on the GAT and spends no time preparing students for it. Given that the GAT is used in statistical moderation, will this disadvantage my students?
- The GAT tests thinking skills, not academic content.
- Knowledge equivalent to that of an average Year 10 student is assumed and if any further information is needed it is provided in the questions.
- At least one person on the panel that reviews the GAT is an ESL specialist and words that might be difficult for a student whose linguistic background is not English are replaced or explained.
- The GAT is not a trivia knowledge test.
